


Casey

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Category: Hanson
Genre: Abduction, Bondage, Gen, Light Sadism, Mild Language, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 22:35:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 53
Words: 23,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set around 2002/2003.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“NO!”

“Tay, look. It’s…”

“Zac? No. The answer is no.”

“It’s only…”

“The answer is no! It always has been and it always fucking will be!” Taylor exclaimed.

Zac hesitated, then ground his teeth.

“It’s just for one night, I promise.”

“No,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “now stop bringing me into this shit, you know I hate it.”

Zac shrugged.

“I figure you’ll eventually get used to it.”

Taylor opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and scowled.

“Don’t bet on it,” he said finally, getting up to leave the room.

“Don’t bet on it,” Zac mimicked, before leaning over the couch to pick up the cordless phone.

He dialled the number on the back of his hand and waited as it called through.

“Hey, Josie? Yeah, it’s Zac. No go, I’m sorry… Yeah well he’s not really into it…”

He cringed as the line went dead, then turned off the phone.


	2. 01

Some weeks later, Zac had been sent to a small shop a couple of streets away to get some milk. As he was coming out from the doors, he collided with someone who was clearly not watching where they were going. The milk carton he held fell and pretty much exploded onto the pavement.  
“Shit,” he cussed, bending to pick up the empty carton.  
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” the girl bit her lip, covering her mouth with one hand.  
“It’s ok, it’s not that expensive,” Zac assured, giving her a reassuring smile as he threw the carton in the nearby bin.  
“I just have to go and get another one.”  
The girl hesitated, looking him over for a moment. She had her hand on her hip, and Zac suddenly noticed the look she was giving him.  
“What?” he demanded, stopping in the doorway.  
“Zac, right?”  
“Depends who’s asking.”  
“I know who you are,” the girl scorned, “my sister’s in love with you.”  
“Good for her,” Zac nodded, “but excuse me, I need to get some milk considering that last carton was ruined.”  
He went into the shop and went about his business. He vaguely noticed that the girl hadn’t followed him, even though she was on her way in when they almost bawled each other over.  
He paid the cashier then left the store. As soon as he stepped out, he heard a shriek.  
Jumping, he turned to see that he’d trodden on the girl’s foot.  
“Shit, sorry!” he exclaimed, “are you okay?”  
“Yeah, yeah, I will be,” she nodded with a smile, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.  
“You know… I’ve heard some things about you…”  
“A lot of people have heard a lot of things about me,” Zac scorned, holding the new milk carton protectively as he began to walk away from her.  
“Yeah well, not what I’ve heard. Do you remember Janelle?”  
Zac froze on the spot, careful not to drop this carton.  
“How do you know Janelle?” he asked finally, without turning around.  
“She’s my cousin.”  
Zac frowned to himself, before turning to face her. She began over to him.  
“This isn’t the place to discuss what I want to,” she insisted.  
Zac hesitated thoughtfully.  
“Give me your number,” he said suddenly, pulling a pen from his pocket and handing it to her before holding his arm out, “I’ll call you when I get home.”  
The girl wrote her number on his arm, a smile spreading across her face.  
“Name’s Casey,” she introduced, holding his pen out for him to take, “and I’ll be waiting.”  
“Wait…” Zac began as she began to leave, “what side do you play on?”  
“Your side,” Casey replied, “talk to you soon.”  
Zac nodded to himself as he watched after her, then made his way home.

~*~


	3. 02

When Zac got home, he went to put the milk straight into the fridge.  
“Thanks Zac,” came Isaac’s voice from the sink where he and Taylor were doing the dishes.  
“Yeah whatever.”  
Taylor kept his eye on him as he dried one of the plates, watching as his brother left the room. He squinted slightly as he caught sight of the number written on Zac’s arm.  
When he heard Zac’s footsteps on the stairs, he leant in toward Isaac.  
“He’s got another number.”  
Isaac hesitated, before glancing toward the doorway. Then he just continued what he was doing in silence.

When Zac made it upstairs, he found the cordless phone in Isaac’s room and snatched it from his bedside table. Looking carefully at the number written on his arm, he quickly dialled the number and put the phone to his ear.  
It took maybe six rings for someone to pick up.  
“Hello?”  
“Hello, Casey?”  
“Hi Zac,” he could hear her smile, “so Janelle was telling the truth?”  
“I wouldn’t ever call her a liar,” Zac shrugged, making his way to his room and closing the door.

When Taylor and Isaac heard the door close, Taylor shook his head.  
“Ike, we have to stop this. We have to stop him doing this,” he said decidedly.  
“We promised we’d never get involved,” Isaac mumbled, scrubbing a pot as hard as he could.  
“Well he still wants me involved, and that’s the problem.”  
“Then just say ‘no’, it’s not that hard.”  
“I shouldn’t have to!” Taylor hissed through his teeth.  
He put the dish down that he’d been drying and leant against the sink.  
“He knows I hate it. He knows we hate it. Why does he have to do it anyway? And why do we have to be the ones stuck cleaning everything up?”  
Isaac gave him a scornful look before handing him the pot.  
“Play it by ear,” he insisted, “if he asks again, you can confront him. I’m not getting involved.”

“So how long have you been into it?” Casey asked, almost playfully.  
“A few years. And I kind of meddled with the idea before that,” Zac replied, sitting on the end of his bed.  
“That’s cool.”  
“So… not to sound rude or anything, but if you’re on my side of the scales then why do you want to talk to me? Shouldn’t you be looking for…”  
“Zac, I want your brother.”

~*~


	4. 03

Zac froze.  
“You can’t have him,” he insisted.  
“Why not?”  
He could tell the smile had disappeared from Casey’s face.  
“He’s not into it,” he scratched his head awkwardly.  
“Zac, that’s the point,” Casey sounded confused, “you don’t have to tell him anything, just send him over…”  
“He’ll know what it is, trust me. I’ve tried this before,” Zac insisted.  
“Zac, I’m offering you my sister.”  
Zac hesitated again.  
“What, because she loves me? You want her to hate me?”  
“No Zac,” Casey sighed, “she’s a masochist.”  
Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“She’s a masochist? How old is she?”  
“Eighteen. A year younger than yourself.”  
“You’re kidding.”  
“I’m not.”  
“What’s her name?”  
“I wanted you to call to make a deal with me Zac, not for me to tempt a sale,” Casey scorned.  
Zac grunted and lay back on his bed.  
“He won’t go for it. I know him.”  
“You don’t even know which brother I’m talking about.”  
“Neither of them would go for it. And if I had to I’d put my money on the fact that it’s Taylor you’re talking about.”  
“Ok, so you have me there. Zac, I can sweeten the deal. You can have my sister for a week if you let me have him one night. One single night…”  
“I can’t just give my brother away like that,” Zac insisted, “what else could I do?”  
“Nothing,” Casey insisted, “this is a take or leave offer. If I don’t get him, you don’t get her.”  
Zac began to grind his teeth in frustration.  
“Casey, I haven’t had a good hit in months…”  
“Then it sounds as if you’ll need to do some sweet talking, doesn’t it?”  
“I’ve told you he won’t go for it!”  
“Then you’ll have to talk him into it,” Casey insisted, “and in any case…”  
Zac waited as she trailed off and became silent. After a minute or so, he frowned.  
“What?’ he demanded.  
“In any case, if you don’t give him to me I’ll come after him myself.”  
“You wouldn’t have a hope in hell,” Zac couldn’t help but chuckle.  
“Wouldn’t I?”  
“No, you wouldn’t. You have no idea what-“  
“Janelle’s been to your house a few times, hasn’t she?” Zac could tell her smile had returned.  
“So what, now she’s plotting against me?” Zac demanded, “you can’t do this to him if he doesn’t want in. Even I respect that.”  
“Well guess what Zac? I don’t. Get used to it. Call me when you change your mind. I’ll give you a week.”  
Zac looked at the receiver in shock as the line went dead.

~*~


	5. 04

When Zac ventured downstairs he found Isaac and Taylor sitting in silence at the kitchen table. Only Isaac looked up as he entered the room and stood near the doorway.  
“Enjoy your walk?” Isaac attempted to break the unnerving silence.  
“Of course. Because milk is just the flavour of the month, you know.”  
“That didn’t even make sense,” Taylor murmured with a frown.  
“So what’s happening?” Isaac interrupted before Zac could retaliate.  
“What do you mean?” Zac looked confused.  
“You had another number on your arm,” Taylor said softly, before looking up at him, “so what do we have to cover for this time and when?”  
Zac pouted slightly and folded his arms across his chest.  
“I don’t know yet,” he admitted, “I don’t know if there will be anything to cover.”  
He neglected to mention Casey’s threat.  
“So where’d you meet her? At the deli?” Isaac tried to make conversation.  
“Sort of. I met her sister there.”  
“Her sister?” Taylor frowned.  
“Yeah. She recognised me obviously, and knew her sister would want it.”  
“Want it?” Isaac looked confused.  
“She’s a masochist,” Zac shrugged.  
“You actually found one?”  
“Yeah.”  
Zac looked down at Taylor who’d gone back to being silent and picking at his nails.  
“Tay?”  
Taylor felt a chill creep down his spine and froze.  
“What?” he demanded.  
“I need to talk to you,” Zac said softly with a glance at Isaac.  
Isaac stood from the table and raised his hands in surrender.  
“I’m out,” he insisted, leaving the room before making his way upstairs.  
Taylor hadn’t moved.  
“Tay?”  
“What?” he repeated, slightly louder.  
Zac bit his bottom lip, hesitating.  
“If this isn’t the time I can always come back later…”  
“Zac depending on what you want it might never be a good time,” Taylor shook his head.  
“Rest assured I don’t want anything from you,” Zac insisted, also raising his hands in surrender, “you’ve drilled into me that you don’t want to be involved in any of my recreational activities and I respect that.”  
“So what do you want?” Taylor looked up at him.  
Zac hesitated again, trying to think of how to word it.  
“Well… just because I might respect your decisions doesn’t mean that everyone will,” he said finally.  
“Are you threatening me?” Taylor’s look suddenly turned to a glare.  
“Tay, I’m your brother. I wouldn’t threaten you,” Zac looked pained, “but well…this girl…and her sister…they... apparently like to do deals. So they both get something out of it. And it sounds like this girl gets what she wants no matter what. She asked me if you were interested and I swear to you that I insisted you would have nothing to do with it. I’m just not sure that she sees it that way. And I’m rambling and I don’t like the way you’re looking at me so I think we should continue this discussion at a later date…”  
“ZAC!” Taylor exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could leave the room.  
“What did she say?” he demanded, “I have a right to know, and you look too worried for my liking.”

~*~


	6. 05

“Let go of my arm and I might actually tell you,” Zac quipped, not liking the feeling of his circulation being cut off.  
“Sorry,” Taylor apologised, letting go.  
“You might want to sit down,” Zac suggested, rubbing his arm where he felt red marks appearing already.  
“Ok…” Taylor began softly, sitting back down where he’d previously been, “now tell me. Or so help me God, I’ll…”  
“The girl I spoke to is a sadist,” Zac began carefully, making sure Isaac wasn’t in earshot as he was sure Taylor didn’t want him to hear what was about to be said.  
“And?” Taylor coaxed, using his hands for emphasis.  
“And apparently she wants you.”  
“I figured that out. It seems whenever you find someone you find someone that wants one of us in return for…”  
“This time it’s different,” Zac insisted, shaking his head.  
“How could it possibly be different?” Taylor shook his head, a scornful tone in his voice.  
“Well, this girl…She’s not like the others. The others didn’t threaten to go after you no matter what.”  
“What?!” Taylor exclaimed, shooting to his feet again, “you can’t be serious. Zac if she even gets close you are so-“  
“Taylor, get a grip,” Zac insisted, grabbing his arms, “she’s smaller than you. I’m sure you could handle it if she ever came after you.”  
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Taylor stressed, his mind reeling.  
Zac paused for a moment staring up at his brother, before letting go of him and taking a step back.  
“She said if I didn’t swap you for her sister she’d come after you anyway,” he said quietly.  
“Is she dangerous?” Taylor’s voice almost croaked.  
“I don’t know,” Zac shook his head, “and I don’t know who she has to help her. She’s Janelle’s cousin, and apparently Janelle’s decided to conspire against us because this girl insists she knows the inside of our house and everything.”  
“I knew Janelle was bad news,” Taylor stopped himself from cursing as he ran his fingers through his hair.  
“Yeah well, if she’s out to help Casey then it’s true,” Zac shrugged.  
“What choice do I have as of now?” Taylor looked up, searching his brother’s face for any sign of reassurance.  
“Well…” Zac began carefully, “you either give yourself up for one night – that’s all she wants – or I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

~*~


	7. 06

“Is there any chance of getting away with lying to her?” Taylor frowned in thought.  
“TAY!”  
“I know, I know we shouldn’t fuck with these kind of people,” Taylor admitted, showing just how frustrated he already was, “but I know what you do. And there is no way in hell I can let that happen to me. I choose life.”  
“You won’t die,” Zac scorned.  
“I’ll fucking wish I was dead,” Taylor hit back without looking at him.  
He hesitated, twiddling his thumbs.  
“How long do I have? Just the week?” he asked finally.  
“She gave me a week to call her back. I don’t know if you have any leeway.”  
Taylor rubbed his face as if he was trying to keep himself awake.  
“How do you get me into these situations? Why do I let it happen?” he groaned.  
“She approached me this time, I had nothing to do with it I swear.”  
“Yeah well next time don’t make friends with a psychopath.”  
“They’re all psychos. We’re all psychos. Isn’t that what everyone thinks? Isn’t that why we have to hide it?” Zac scorned.  
“Yeah well not all of you are as desperate as she seems to be.”  
“She’s not desperate. She just…seems to know what she wants and how to get it.”  
“She wants me. I don’t appreciate being considered an object.”  
“Sorry.”  
“What are we going to do?” Taylor moaned, banging his head down onto the desk and wrapping his arms around it.  
Zac looked up suddenly as there was a knock at the door. Isaac was standing in the doorway.  
“Safe to come back?” he asked.  
“Sure,” Taylor shrugged uncomfortably.  
Isaac looked uncertain, before slipping over to sit next to Taylor at the table. He gave Zac sitting opposite a curious glance.  
“So…anything I should know about yet?” he asked carefully.  
Zac looked to Taylor.  
“Why not?” Taylor grumbled, his face still hidden.  
One of Isaac’s eyebrows raised.  
“Basically…psycho wants him. Psycho’s gonna get him come the end of the week. Unless he gives in earlier,” Zac offered.  
“Psycho?” Isaac frowned.  
“One of his girls,” Taylor continued to grumble, “has basically said that if I don’t give myself up she’s coming after me. And she knows the house and everything.”  
“Then maybe we should get you out of the house?” Isaac suggested calmly.  
Taylor finally looked up tiredly.  
“Do you know who we’re dealing with?” he scorned.  
“A teenage girl? Or two?” Isaac guessed.

~*~


	8. 07

A couple of days later, Zac received a call on his cell phone. Paying more attention to what was on his computer screen than his ring tone, he subconsciously picked up the phone and answered.  
“Hello?”  
“Hi Zac, long time no talk. For a few days anyway.”  
It took a moment for the voice to register in Zac’s memory.  
Suddenly, he began to take a lot more notice of his phone than his computer screen.  
“How did you get my number?” he demanded with a frown.  
“Janelle.”  
Zac scowled.  
“She’s not as untouchable as she thinks she is, you know,” he mumbled.  
“Well that’s for you two to decide. I called to ask you something.”  
“He’s not going along with it. Like I told you. He hates it, and he’s…”  
“Did you ask him?”  
“Yes, yes I did.”  
“Did you tell him what else I said?”  
“Yes I did.”  
Zac hesitated, and then frowned in confusion when as soon as he answered she hung up. That was, until he heard Taylor’s cell phone ringing downstairs.  
“Oh no…”

“Hello?” Taylor asked absently as he answered his phone, more content with what he and Isaac were watching on cable.  
“Hi Taylor.”  
Taylor hesitated, and then frowned.  
“Do I know you?” he asked.  
Isaac rolled his eyes as he guessed another random fan had called.  
“Not yet. But you will by the end of the week.”  
“Is that so…?” Taylor asked carefully, looking up as he heard Zac’s footsteps on the stairs.  
“Yes, it is. I take it you haven’t guessed who I am yet.”  
The frown didn’t remove itself from Taylor’s face as he tried to think of who the heck it could be on the other end of the line. That was before Zac entered the room.  
“Not exactly,” Taylor finally answered, looking up curiously as Zac came to stand in front of him.  
When he was given the cutthroat signal, he hesitated a moment further in confusion before his eyes widened slightly.  
“Well, my name’s Casey for a start…”  
“What do you want?” Taylor suddenly demanded, getting off the couch and backing off as Zac tried to grab the phone.  
Isaac watched on in silence.  
“Do you even have to ask?” Casey laughed on the other end of the phone.

~*~


	9. 08

“Why? Why do you want me? Why are you doing this to me?” Taylor demanded, backing into a corner so Zac couldn’t reach the phone and take it from him.  
“Because you’re beautiful, inside and out?”  
Taylor hesitated, taken aback. Speechless for a moment, he regained his composure when he had to fight Zac off again.  
“I’m not perfect,” he scorned.  
“Yes you are.”  
“Well you want to ruin that?” he asked incredulously.  
“No, I want to see how I can improve on perfection.”  
“What are you talking about?” Taylor demanded, before he lost the fight with Zac and the phone fell to the floor.  
Zac snatched it up and put it to his ear.  
“Leave him alone,” he insisted.  
“Zac, I was talking to Taylor. It’s rather rude butting in like that.”  
“Leave him alone,” Zac repeated, firmer this time.  
“You sound almost threatening.”  
“Don’t fucking make me.”  
Zac hung up and turned Taylor’s phone off. Taylor was just standing there staring at him.  
“Don’t answer any of her calls if you know what’s good for you,” Zac insisted.  
Taylor hesitated, and then held his hand out for the phone. Zac gave it to him reluctantly, before leaving the room.  
“See what I mean?” Taylor said softly, pointing after him.  
Isaac shook his head.  
“I’m not getting involved Tay.”  
“Yeah well I think it’s about damn time that you did,” Taylor scorned.  
He stared at his phone for a moment, debating whether or not to turn it back on. Deciding not to, he returned it to his pocket then made his way back to the couch.  
“Stressed?” Isaac raised his eyebrows.  
“I thought you said you didn’t want to get involved.”  
“I don’t. Doesn’t mean I can’t worry about your mental stability.”  
Taylor gave him a scornful look before hunching over and slipping down into a more comfortable position.  
“Yes,” he admitted after a while.  
“Understandably.”  
“Thanks for your vote of confidence.”  
“I’m not biased. I’m not getting involved.”  
“You keep saying that, but somehow I think you’re wriggling your way in.”  
“Hey, I am a perfectly good citizen who hasn’t broken the law yet. Without his car. And I don’t intend to start.”  
“I’m not breaking the law.”  
“No, but you’re becoming an accessory.”  
“Like you weren’t to begin with. We’re accessories to what Zac’s doing for a start.”  
“So we have to watch out for our little brother,” Isaac reasoned, “there’s nothing wrong with that.”  
“Well do you want to start watching out for another one of your little brothers while you’re at it?”

~*~


	10. 09

Two days later, Zac groaned as his phone rang. He thought it to be Isaac just wondering where he was when if he’d simply looked in his bedroom he’d already know.  
But as he picked the phone up and checked the screen, he realised he didn’t recognise the number. Shrugging to himself, he decided to let it ring. If he didn’t know who the person was and didn’t recognise the number, then it couldn’t have been anyone important.  
As he went back to working on his computer, he suddenly had an idle thought. Checking his arm where the pen had almost completely rubbed off, he recognised a few of the digits.  
“Shit,” he cussed, lunging for the phone.  
He grabbed it the second voicemail picked up. Realising this, he cursed some more before waiting for a message to appear saying he had a new message.  
He didn’t have to wait long, and quickly went in to his message bank to retrieve it. He wasn’t surprised when he heard Casey’s voice.  
“Hey Zac it’s Casey. Just called to remind you that you only have two days left. Not that you should need reminding. And well, I hadn’t heard from you, so considering your job I thought you might have forgotten. Anyway I’m rambling, so if I don’t hear from you I guess you’ll never hear from me again. Ciao!”  
Zac scowled as the message ended, before standing from his stool.  
He made his way to the door and out into the hall. Hearing the television on downstairs, he made his way down and found Taylor half asleep on the couch.  
He made his way over and held the phone out. Taylor just glanced at it, then looked back at the TV.  
“Dial three to replay,” Zac said suddenly.  
“Why?”  
“Just do it.”  
Taylor grunted a little as he pulled himself up into an easier to move position, then took the phone and pressed the number three before putting it to his ear. His facial expression didn’t change as he listened, and Zac raised an eyebrow at the lack of response.  
Finally, Taylor sighed and hung up.  
“Well that’s interesting,” he said simply.  
“That’s it?” Zac looked surprised, “that’s all you can say?”  
“What do you want me to say, Zac?” Taylor looked up tiredly, “what could I possibly say to assure you that nothing is going to happen? If it happens, it happens. I’m too tired to think of this right now.”  
“Tay, she said I’d never hear from her again…”  
“Then maybe she’ll leave us alone,” Taylor mumbled, returning to his earlier slouching position.  
“Or maybe she’s not planning to give you back afterward,” Zac scorned.

~*~


	11. 10

“Why wouldn’t she?” Taylor shrugged.  
“Why do you think?” Zac scorned, “if she believes that you’re that desperate to not be involved she might think you’d dob her in to the cops or something, and then…”  
“But if she’s experienced she should be used to that threat, right?” Taylor pointed out.  
“Well, yeah… but you don’t know what could have happened to those other people.”  
Taylor hesitated as he began to realise what Zac was trying to tell him.  
“You don’t think she’d really…”  
He cut himself off and rubbed his chin, worriedly.  
“Tay, we can put you under protection. We can leave in the next few days. We can even go back to New York if we need to. I’m sure Ike won’t mind.”  
“I can’t hide forever,” Taylor scorned.  
“You can hide until she cools off,” Zac insisted, “trust me. I really don’t think you should mess with her.”  
“How many days do we have?” Taylor asked suddenly.  
Zac paused for a moment, and then hung his head.  
“Two days. If we do anything it has to be tomorrow,” he admitted.  
Taylor gulped as reality began to hit hard.  
“Ike doesn’t know anything, does he?”  
“No one does. Unless she’s told anyone,” Zac reassured.  
“Probably Janelle.”  
“Well if she’s been asking about the house and that Janelle would want to know why.”  
“Maybe Janelle’s going to help her anyway. I remember when you two first met and she couldn’t keep her fucking hands off me.”  
Zac held back any kind of snide remark that might have darkened the mood even further.  
“What do you want to do Tay?” he asked finally.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shook his head, before running his fingers through his hair.  
“Do you want to go somewhere?”  
Taylor hesitated as Zac counted silently in his head. After five seconds, he shook his head.  
“Ok we’re not going anywhere. We’ll stay right here. And you just have to hope for the best.”  
Taylor looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.  
“What else can we do?” Zac spread his arms in question.  
When Taylor remained silent and only moved to awkwardly scratch his neck, Zac sighed.  
“We’ll just… I don’t know. Keep all the doors locked or something. Eventually she’ll realise it’s worthless.”  
“You hope,” Taylor murmured.  
“It’s the best we can do if you won’t agree to go with her,” Zac scowled.  
“Zac, I still remember the very, very first time I walked in on you. I remember what you were doing. Do you not remember that?” Taylor frowned suddenly.  
“Of course I remember, as if you’d let me forget,” Zac rolled his eyes.  
“That image has been burned into my brain,” Taylor’s voice rose, “I never wanted to fucking see that again. I still don’t. And I certainly don’t want that to happen to me. There’s a reason it’s illegal…”  
“It’s not illegal,” Zac frowned.  
“You want to go tell that to a cop?” Taylor stood up suddenly, “because don’t think for a moment that I haven’t ever thought of turning you in.”  
Zac hesitated, on the verge of fuming. Finally, he shrugged.  
“I know you won’t,” he said finally.  
“Why not?” Taylor demanded as Zac began to walk away from him.  
“Because both you and Ike swore not to.”

~*~


	12. 11

The next day, it was strikingly obvious to both Isaac and Zac just how paranoid Taylor had become.  
At Zac’s request, they had kept the doors and windows closed and locked, and decided to concentrate the day on song writing. They hadn’t all just sat down and had a good song writing session for quite some time, so Zac had figured it would be the best way to take Taylor’s mind off the fact that they were passing his deadline.  
Admittedly they were off to a good start. It was only really later in the day that Taylor’s nerves really began to show.  
“Tay?” Isaac asked worriedly at some point, “let me take over that part for a second…”  
“No, I can do this,” Taylor insisted, head down and concentrating on the chords he was trying to get out.  
Isaac sat and watched as he struggled with it, while Zac was recording a drum solo in the sound booth in the corner.  
“Tay, you’re not getting anywhere.”  
“I know!” Taylor exclaimed, frustrated.  
He hesitated and put his hand to his forehead for a moment.  
“I just need to calm down,” he admitted.  
“You’re not going to calm down anytime soon. Do you even realise how much your hands were shaking?”  
“Were?” Taylor pointed out, holding his hand out for Isaac to watch.  
Isaac hesitated.  
“I think that’s enough on that part for now. Why don’t you try some piano? The adrenaline might actually do some good over there where you don’t have to be as precise.”  
Taylor hesitated thoughtfully as he stared at the piano, and then nodded.  
“Ok, let’s try.”

That night, Taylor lay awake in bed. And he wasn’t the only one. After a couple of hours Zac had come in to check on him, but returned to his room.  
Taylor’s eyes drifted to the window. Even though he was two storeys up he still felt as if someone was right outside, staring in at him.  
With a shiver, he closed his eyes. If she hadn’t have come yet, she wouldn’t, right?  
Grumbling to himself, he shifted slightly before hearing the clock downstairs chiming twelve for midnight. That was it. The deadline was over.  
Suddenly able to breath easier, he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Deciding he wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon, he decided to get up and get a drink. Not surprisingly, he met Zac again in the kitchen.  
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked tiredly, making his way to the refrigerator.  
“Nope. And I’m guessing you couldn’t either.”  
“I heard the clock strike twelve.”  
“Funny, so did I.”  
“Think this means it’s over?’ Taylor asked cautiously as he poured his drink.  
“Yeah, I do,” Zac agreed after a moment with a nod, “I just hope these feelings are right.”

~*~


	13. 12

“So this record was quite a long time coming…what have you been doing the past few years?”  
“Well we were out promoting Underneath overseas,” Isaac jumped in, “it’s no small task and we wanted to spend as much time as we could in the places that have really supported us. We did a full scale tour of the States as we had three times previous, but there were many places that had never experienced a show before –“  
“Basically we jumped into recording as soon as we could,” Zac butted in before Isaac could ramble on too far, “and inevitably this record came out faster than Underneath. Well, the overall process took a lot less time anyway.”  
“Basically last time we had a lot of problems actually bringing the record out,” Taylor added, “and then to actually bring it out we had to… expand our horizons and we inevitably had a lot more work to do being on our own label and all. So we had a lot to do with promotion and such. But hopefully this time around, because we’ve done it before, we’ll know what we’re doing and promotions won’t take as long.”  
He and Zac chuckled.  
The interview was over in another few minutes and the boys departed the LA studio with the promise of returning sometime soon.  
On the way back to their hotel, Zac noticed Taylor gazing out the window with a strange look on his face.  
“Something wrong?” he asked idly.  
It took Taylor a moment to realise Zac was talking to him.  
“Hm? Nothing. Nothing wrong. Just admiring the view.”  
“Yeah, street corners. Exciting stuff.”  
When the driver dropped them at the doors to the hotel, Isaac began to back off a little.  
“I’m going to check out the neighbourhood and see what kind of café’s they have here. I’m really in the need of caffeine right now.”  
“I’ll come with you,” Taylor offered.  
“Ok then, see you later,” Zac saluted, turning and making his way up the steps and through the doors.  
Taylor followed Isaac down the street.  
“Looking for anything in particular?” he asked absently.  
“Starbucks?”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
They soon found the local Starbucks and made their way in. Isaac took Taylor’s order and went to line up while Taylor found them a table.  
After sitting bored for a moment just tapping his fingers in time to the beat on the radio, someone sidled into the seat across from him.  
“Hi,” she smiled sweetly.

~*~


	14. 13

“Do I know you?” Taylor asked with honest curiosity, having recognised her voice.  
“Not quite yet,” the small brunette waved him off, “I’d like you to do something for me.”  
“And what’s that?” Taylor looked confused.  
“Message your brother over there and tell him you’ll meet him back at the hotel.”  
“And why would I do that?” Taylor chuckled incredulously.  
“Taylor. Put your hand under the table for a moment,” the girl insisted, leaning forward slightly.  
Taylor frowned, but did as she asked. When he felt the cold metal of what she was holding, he suddenly froze.  
“Don’t tense,” she insisted, “just message your brother. It’s not that hard.”

When Isaac heard his phone beep signalling he had a message, he quickly found a space on the counter to set his tray down so that he could retrieve his phone from his pocket. When he did and read Taylor’s message, he frowned.  
“What the heck…?”  
He looked around, trying to spot him, before moving a little so he could look around the corner into the seating area. No sign of Taylor.  
“Ok then…”  
Mulling over why Taylor would desert him, he set the tray in a nearby rack and asked for something to take the drinks back to the hotel in. When he received a holder, he left.

Arriving back at the hotel, Zac looked surprised to see him.  
“You’re back early. Thought you might get lost and end up calling me or something…”  
“Where’s Tay?” Isaac asked curiously, coming into the room and kicking the door shut behind him.  
“He was with you,” Zac frowned.  
“He was but he left. He didn’t even tell me, just messaged me from his phone saying he’d meet me back here.”  
“That’s unlike him,” Zac shook his head.  
“Tell me about it. And we were all of five metres away from each other. I didn’t even see him leave.”  
“Definitely unlike him. Maybe he saw someone he knew or something.”  
“We don’t know anyone around here, do we?” Isaac frowned in thought as he sat the table with his and Taylor’s drinks.  
“Not that I know of, but you never know with Taylor. Maybe some fans distracted him.”  
“Maybe,” Isaac shrugged.  
“Don’t worry too much. He’ll probably call in a few minutes and tell us he’s lost,” Zac chuckled.  
Isaac agreed with a nod, and then turned the hotel television on.  
However, as midday began to roll on, Isaac was becoming worried.  
“He knows we don’t have any more press this afternoon,” Zac pointed out, “he’s probably just exploring for the afternoon.”  
“Zac you don’t message your brother from five metres away while he’s ordering you a drink to lie to him without clearing it up straight after.”

~*~


	15. 14

Zac began to get worried when he realised that Taylor wasn’t answering his phone.  
“I must have left at least six voicemail messages by now,” he mumbled at least two hours after Isaac had expressed his concern.  
“I told you I’ve been calling.”  
“But his phone’s on, he’s just not answering it,” Zac scratched his head, confused.  
“I know this.”  
Zac scowled, tapping his fingers on the arm of the couch he was sitting on.  
“So what do we do?”  
“I’ve asked that too.”  
“You’re not helping Ike.”  
“Neither are you.”  
Isaac stood from the table and made his way over to the landline phone.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Going through the address book and calling everyone here we know,” Isaac replied, picking up said address book and beginning to search through it.  
“Heh. Have fun,” Zac mused, mainly to himself.  
Isaac glanced across at him, sitting there staring out the window, but decided to ignore him for now. Taylor was the main concern.  
While Isaac busied himself with calling people, Zac stared at his phone a moment longer before shrugging to himself and trying Taylor’s phone again.

Taylor stared at his cell phone as it rang again from the dashboard in the car.  
“Ignore it,” the girl insisted.  
“It’s not going to stop,” Taylor said softly.  
“I don’t care. Ignore it.”  
“Will you let me turn it off?”  
“You’re not touching the damn phone. Don’t make me sedate you before we get back into Tulsa.”  
Taylor’s head shot across as he looked at her, then he turned to look in the back seat to see if he could see anything of what she had with her. She soon took hold of his chin and turned his head around again.  
“Why are you doing this?” he asked for what seemed the ten-thousandth time.  
“I won’t deny who I am. And I know that I need this. You understand your brother, don’t you? I’m the same.”  
Taylor shivered, and then hugged himself as he looked out the window at the passing trees.  
“You’re nothing like Zac,” he insisted.  
“Aren’t I? I heard about Claudia you know. Not to mention others like her.”  
“That was an accident,” Taylor insisted.  
“So he told you.”

~*~


	16. 15

It was well beyond dark when Isaac finally put the phone down for what he deemed the final time.  
“I don’t think he’s coming back,” he said decidedly, not moving.  
Zac looked over at him from the couch, where he sat biting his nails. Finally, Isaac looked up at him.  
“Don’t you think there should be some exception for people like us to the ‘have to be missing for 24 hours’ thing?” Zac said suddenly, his voice piercing the silence in the room.  
“There won’t be,” Isaac shook his head, “I already called. Tomorrow morning I can call back.”  
Zac’s eyebrows lowered when he realised his brother’s voice had cracked. It hadn’t done that since their grandmother died years ago.  
“We have to have an idea of what happened,” Zac insisted, “I mean there’s no ransom or anything, so it’s no one with intent. He very well could be lost…”  
“You know how paranoid he is, Zac. He would have found a phone booth if his phone had died. He would have asked for directions. He’s not just lost this time.”  
“Well remember what happened in LA that time we sent him to get lunch?”  
“This isn’t like that,” Isaac scorned, still not having moved from the phone.  
“I… never said it was. I was just giving an example. I know he knows better this time but we have to think of ways that this could just be nothing to worry about.”  
“Why?” Isaac frowned, “you should know to always expect the worst. I’m expecting the worst. I’m expecting that maybe we just haven’t found the ransom note yet or something.”  
“Well it can’t be that important then,” Zac shrugged.  
“You don’t think Taylor’s life is important?”  
“Don’t put words in my mouth, I never said that.”  
Isaac hesitated with a sigh, and then scratched his head. Zac reached out to grab a nearby cushion and smothered his face with it.  
“We need sleep,” Isaac barely managed to make out through it.  
“Well good luck with that,” Isaac scorned, making his way toward the kitchen area.  
Zac said nothing, just remained where he was. In fact, his mind was actually racing to think of where Taylor could be. He tried to think of people that they may have pissed off around this area, but no one came to mind. No one that would want revenge… no one that Taylor would just go and see for the sake of it…no one they knew that he could have run into on the street and gone back with… no excuse for him to not answer his freaking phone…  
Where the hell was he?

“Don’t you think we should pull over and get some sleep?” Taylor asked hours after dark.  
“I’m an insomniac, don’t worry. It’s hard to sleep when they’re crying, but you eventually get used to it. You can sleep if you want.”

~*~


	17. 16

In the early hours of the next morning, Zac was awoken by his cell phone ringing.  
“Now what?” he mumbled, swiping at the coffee table beside him and not bothering to move the cushion from his face.  
He eventually found it and put it to his ear.  
“Yello?”  
“Umm… hi. Zac? Zac Hanson?”  
Zac held in a groan.  
“Yeah?”  
“My name’s Josie, I…my sister gave me your number. She said there might be…Well, she told me about you of course, and she said there might be a chance that we could meet up…”  
Zac shook his head tiredly.  
“I’m sorry, but who are you? Who’s your sister?”  
“Her name’s Casey. Well, she said you probably wouldn’t remember her. And she told me you were in LA so of course I’m happy to wait until you get back to Tulsa…”  
Zac didn’t hear much more. He threw the cushion away and got up from the couch, going to try and find Isaac. Slamming his bedroom door open was enough to wake him up.  
“It’s Casey,” he said simply as Isaac struggled to open his eyes.  
“What?” came Josie’s voice.  
“Ah… Josie?” Zac struggled to remember her name for a moment, “I need you, I _really_ need you, to help me out here ok? Do you know where Taylor is?”  
“Taylor? As in your brother Taylor?”  
“Yes!”  
There was a slight pause.  
“I don’t know,” she insisted, “I assume he’s with you. Why?”  
“Well he’s not with us and yes, I remember your sister very well.”  
“She doesn’t like Hanson…”  
“So she said. But she may have just bullshitted everyone to get to a certain member. Josie, if you come across…”  
“Zac. What are you saying?”  
“I’m saying that I think your sister has our brother, and we want him back.”  
Josie hesitated.  
“Zac, she wouldn’t go all the way to LA just to get him, she’s more logical than that.”  
“Then where is she right now?”  
“Staying at a friend’s.”  
“Then call her cell and ask to talk to the friend she’s staying with.”  
“I can’t. Dana lives out of range.”  
Zac rolled his eyes.  
“You know what? I am about 110% certain that Dana is just a false alibi.”  
It was at that moment that Isaac appeared, his eyes still struggling to cope with the morning light.  
“What’s going on?” he mumbled, becoming more awake by the second.  
“I’m not so sure Zac. I know Dana, she wouldn’t have anything to do with a kidnapping plot.”  
“Then maybe she doesn’t know about it,” Zac scorned.

~*~


	18. 17

“Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?” Isaac frowned, “we really can’t afford to-“  
“You don’t have to come.”  
“-Miss these appointments. I’m serious Zac.”  
“I’m serious too!” Zac exclaimed as he threw a jacket on and looked up incredulously, “we have no idea what this girl is capable of.”  
“You don’t even know if she’s the reason he’s gone missing,” Isaac pointed out.  
“Yes, I do,” Zac insisted, disappearing into an adjoining room and continuing in a raised voice, “what, you think it’s a coincidence that her sister just suddenly calls when she said I’d only get her if she got Taylor? I mean come on…”  
“Zac, she’s in Tulsa.”  
“That doesn’t mean a damn thing.”  
He soon emerged with his backpack almost bursting.  
“Now if you’re coming,” he began with raised eyebrows, “I’d get ready if I were you. Plane leaves in four hours and it’ll take us an hour to get there.”  
Isaac hesitated with his hands on his hips.  
“Did you book for one or two?”  
“One, but I’m sure they have more room.”  
After a moment of silence, Isaac shook his head.  
“I don’t like it, but I’ll come. If only to try and keep you out of trouble. You know I don’t want to get involved in this.”  
“This is Taylor’s life we’re talking about,” Zac suddenly hissed between his teeth, “don’t you see that Ike?”  
Noticing that Zac’s voice had nearly croaked, Isaac stepped closer to him carefully.  
“It was an accident, Zac. We could see that,” he insisted, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder.  
Zac just shook his head.  
“She never should have been there. And Taylor should never have seen it,” he gulped.  
“I know, but there’s nothing we can do to change what happened, ok? But just because you slipped up it doesn’t mean Casey will as well.”  
“We don’t know what kind of motives she has,” Zac shook his head, “I mean, how could she honestly expect to come out of this without getting charged? And that’s going to fuel more charges because people she’s hurt in the past will come forward…”  
“She could be planning to blackmail you. You don’t know.”  
Zac looked up at his brother for a moment, before pulling the backpack tighter over his shoulder.  
“It doesn’t change anything,” he insisted, “I’m going back to Tulsa, and you can’t stop me.”  
“Do you see me trying?” Isaac shrugged, “but honestly? We need this promotion right now. And if you’re going after Taylor then there’s only me left to do it. We don’t want anyone to catch on that this has happened, right?”  
Zac ground his teeth for a moment, then grabbed his cell phone from the bench.  
“Right.”

~*~


	19. 18

Taylor looked out over the field to his left as Casey pulled over rather suddenly.  
“First stop,” she smiled to herself, turning the car off.  
“First stop?” Taylor raised his eyebrows, “where are we?”  
“The outskirts.”  
“Of where?” he frowned, turning to watch her.  
“Tulsa.”  
He saw her take hold of the gun again as she got out of the car and closed the door. He seriously debated with himself whether or not to make a run for it, but he wasn’t willing to give her an excuse to put a bullet in him.  
She came to his door and opened it before leaning in and taking hold of his right wrist. Had he had a moment more to think she wouldn’t have made it, but he soon felt the cold metal of a cuff around that wrist before realising she’d just hand cuffed him to herself.  
“What’s that for?” he demanded, immediately nervous again.  
“Precaution. Get out.”  
His eyes falling to where she held the gun easily at her side, he obliged, before she closed the door behind him. She set the alarm on the car and then began to walk away – forcing him to follow her.  
“Where are we going? We’re out in the middle of nowhere,” Taylor asked incredulously.  
“Not quite nowhere,” Casey insisted, “my uncle owns this land and farms it. I know my way around as well as who does and doesn’t come here.”  
“And…?” Taylor coaxed, sensing there was more to it than that.  
“Well you won’t be staying here. I have a cousin who more often than not owes me a favour – he’ll be here to collect you tomorrow.”  
“From where?” Taylor frowned, suddenly looking around in the hopes of spotting a farmhouse or the like.  
“Here.”  
Casey stopped by a field sprinkler system and produced the key to the handcuffs.  
“Woah wait…you can’t be serious. You’re leaving me out here overnight?” Taylor was waving his left hand in a ‘no way in hell’ gesture.  
Casey didn’t reply before unlocking her cuff and locking it onto the sprinkler system instead.  
“What if it rains?!” Taylor exclaimed suddenly.  
“The weatherman said it wouldn’t rain, so if does you’ll have to take it up with him.”  
Taylor gave her a scornful look, before pulling on the cuff to test its strength. Just his luck – he was right handed, and guess which hand the cuff was on?  
“He shouldn’t be too late in the day. Until then I’d suggest relaxing, because it will be the last in a long time that you’ll get to.”  
Taylor gulped unnoticeably at that, knowing exactly what she meant. She reached up to pat him on the cheek and he flinched away from her.  
“See you sometime tomorrow,” she smiled, before making her way back to the car.  
Taylor watched her leave, before slumping to his knees on the ground helplessly.

~*~


	20. 19

Due to time difference, it was already evening when Zac’s plane landed in Tulsa. He tried not to rush through the airport to get to the gates and meet a friend he’d asked to come and get him, but the urgency finally took over.  
“Zac?”  
“Dale!”  
“What’s the hurry man?” Dale looked suddenly worried as Zac made his way over.  
“I’ll tell you on the way. Come on.”  
They found Dale’s car in the parking lot and were soon making their way to the address Josie had given Zac over the phone.  
“Do your parents know you’re here man?”  
“No. If I told them, they’d want to know why. I’m not interested in them finding out why.”  
“And you came alone?”  
“It was a spur of the moment thing. We still have promo to do, so Ike had to stay behind.”  
“So why did you come and not him?”  
“Because I’m the one that got Taylor into this mess in the first place!”  
Dale hesitated at the outburst, glancing over for a moment to see Zac hiding his face in his hand against the window.  
“You haven’t told me what’s going on yet, you know.”  
“Do you know a girl named Casey?” Zac mumbled.  
“One of my sister’s friends has a kid named Casey, but it’s a he and he’s like three years old, man.”  
Zac hesitated, wondering how much he could get away with telling him.  
“Ok. I got in with the wrong girl, alright? Well no, actually, she approached me. She knew what I was and her sister’s the opposite. Unfortunately she’s just like me and like many others of her kind wanted Taylor. Only in this case she offered her sister to me if I could get him for her. And unlike when that’s happened before, this offer came with the threat that if I didn’t organise it, she’d come after him anyway. Obviously I didn’t organise it because Taylor doesn’t go for that kind of thing after what happened and…”  
“And she came after him and got him? Man. You should know better. You know when a girl like that says something she means it. He should have been watching himself.”  
“It was over a month ago since we last heard from her, we didn’t think she was this patient,” Zac ran his fingers through his hair nervously, “but at the moment the verdict is that obviously she knows she can’t get away with this if Taylor lives to tell the tale, so she’s probably planning to blackmail me or something considering she knows Janelle and suddenly Janelle has decided to divulge a whole lot of fucking information that she never should have known in the first place.”  
Dale’s eyebrows rose as Zac’s voice did. There was a moment of silence.  
“Sorry,” Zac said suddenly.  
“No man, I asked for it. So what’s the plan?”  
“Well I got a call from Casey’s sister Josie. She didn’t know anything about it and she doesn’t know where her sister is, so I’m heading over to their place to see if we can find her. She had a false alibi so hopefully that girl can help us out.”

~*~


	21. 20

Dale soon pulled up in Josie’s driveway and Zac grabbed for his backpack as he opened the door.  
“Want me to come man?” Dale asked, just in case.  
“That’d be great.”  
Dale hesitated, not expecting to be asked, but finally got out of the car and followed Zac up to the door. He was already knocking.  
A woman who looked to be in her forties answered.  
“Yes?”  
“We’re here to see Josie,” Zac stated.  
The woman hesitated, and then stepped back a little. Footsteps were heard from the staircase behind her.  
“Friends of yours?” the woman asked.  
“Yes, yes they are,” the young girl smiled, coming to greet them as the woman left.  
“Josie, I presume,” Zac nodded, shaking her hand.  
“Yeah…”  
“Is there a place we can talk?”  
“My room?” Josie looked more than a little embarrassed.  
“Sure,” Zac insisted, stepping inside and pulling Dale by the sleeve of his shirt with him.  
Josie closed the door behind them and led the way upstairs. They stopped at a decorated door, and Josie opened it before stepping to the side and looking away from Zac. Zac gave her a questioning look before stepping inside. Dale followed.  
As Zac stepped through, he suddenly saw why Josie was embarrassed. He couldn’t hide a small smirk as she closed the door behind them.  
“Sorry. I’ll have to put some music on so questioning ears can’t eavesdrop,” Josie said softly, moving across to her CD player and quickly putting something on, “take a seat.”  
Dale and Zac looked around for a moment, before sitting back onto the bed. Josie pulled her desk chair over so they’d be able to hear each other.  
“So… you’re a Hanson fan,” Zac stated the somewhat obvious as he looked around the room, and Dale couldn’t help but grin.  
“I won’t hide it. Now, let me get this straight,” she quickly brushed over the aforementioned topic, “you think that my sister took Taylor against his will into the house?”  
“House?” Zac jumped on immediately, “what house? Where?”  
Dale grabbed him by the arm and gave him a warning glance.  
“Basically… yeah,” he said for him.  
“Well it sounds typical. I’m guessing she only gave me your number in return for him,” Josie crossed her arms with a frown.  
“We think so,” Zac agreed, “because I was supposed to organise it. Only I didn’t because Taylor hates this, and I knew that. But she came for him anyway, and basically we want him back.”  
“But… if you’re so into it, why does he hate it…?” Josie asked innocently.

~*~


	22. 21

“He saw something he shouldn’t have, can we leave it at that?” Zac looked pained for a moment.  
“Got to someone he knew, huh?” Josie raised an eyebrow as she crossed her legs.  
“Sort of,” Zac fidgeted a little as Dale’s eyes lowered.  
Josie pulled her skirt down.  
“A girlfriend?”  
“That isn’t any of your business. And it’s in the past. What we need now is to find him before she does anything.”  
Josie hesitated, her eyes on Dale for a moment before glancing at her watch.  
“How long has he been missing?” she asked finally.  
“Midday yesterday.”  
“Ok, well it would have taken her about a day to get back to Tulsa. I say give it until midday tomorrow, and then I take you to the house.”  
“Can’t we go now?” Zac frowned, grabbing his backpack from where he’d dumped it on the floor.  
“No.”  
Zac leant forward suddenly.  
“Then why can’t you just tell me where it is, and I’ll go myself.”  
“Because she’ll know it was me who told you and I’m not interested in getting in trouble for it. Call it sibling rivalry, I’m sure you know a lot about that. Besides, it’s raining.”  
Zac hesitated, then lifted his hand to point at her.  
“You have your sister’s attitude. How do we know that tomorrow won’t be too late?”  
“It won’t,” Josie insisted, glaring straight back, “and I cross my heart and hope to die, swear that I will take you there tomorrow. It’s getting close to midnight now anyway, I’m sure he’s fine wherever he is.”  
“So he might not be at the house.”  
“He won’t be in the first day, I know that much. She normally does something to ‘break them in’ so to speak. Get them used to being on their own in a sense.”  
“You know a lot more about what you’re sister’s up to than you’re letting on.”  
“Only because I know her general routine,” Josie looked suddenly worried, “and speaking of which, she’s due home tomorrow morning, so you’d better not come here. You can pick me up at midday from the bus stop around the corner to the left.”  
“Why can’t we just make her take us then?” Dale shrugged, his eyes finally level with theirs again.  
“It won’t be any use,” Zac shook his head, “she’ll remind me that she warned me and then just use blackmail to get out of it or something. We have to find him ourselves.”  
“We haven’t been introduced,” Josie insisted, holding her hand out to Dale.  
“Dale,” he cleared his throat, “and I’m guessing you’re Josie.”  
“Nice to meet you.”  
“If there’s nothing else to be said, we’ll see you tomorrow at midday. And mark my words, if you don’t show…” Zac began in a warning tone.  
“I’ll show,” Josie insisted, a hand on his shoulder as reassurance, “I had no idea Taylor was that off about it. Now that I know I’m willing to help out. I _am_ a Hanson fan after all…”

~*~


	23. 22

Taylor hadn’t thought he’d ever get to sleep, but he nonetheless awoke sometime not long after dawn to someone standing over him. The rain had ceased to a light sprinkle, but he still couldn’t quite open his eyes to see who it was.  
“Get up,” came a gruff voice.  
Taylor held back a groan and he tried to wipe the water from his face with his left hand, before trying to push himself up. On about the third try, he made it into a crouch and finally stood. He barely even looked up before he was punched across the jaw.  
Apart from a first grunt, he didn’t make a sound as he was forced against the side of the sprinkler system and the handcuff was unlocked. Too disoriented to actually do anything other than cough from the sudden shock of being hit, he didn’t realise his hands had been cuffed behind him until a few moments after they had.  
“Come on,” the young man grumbled, grabbing the back of Taylor’s jacket and beginning to lead him away.  
Taylor could feel the water running down his back that had just been squeezed from the jacket.  
“Where are we going?” he asked carefully.  
“The farmhouse. It’s not far.”  
“And you’re Casey’s cousin, right?”  
“Right. Now shut up.”  
Taylor took cautious note of what this guy looked like, just in case he ever made it out. He was almost as tall, with short but shaggy dark hair, dark eyes and a rather skinny build. He had a scar running across his right cheek, and wore jeans and a dark shirt.  
He soon sighted a van up ahead near where Casey had parked her car. When they made it there, the man opened the back door and indicated for Taylor to get in. Taylor hesitated but obliged, and they were soon making their way down the highway in silence.  
About twenty miles down the road, they turned onto a dirt track. If Taylor sat up straight he could see a farmhouse in the distance through the front windscreen. It was at least another five minutes or so before the van pulled to a halt, and if Taylor hadn’t already been nervous he definitely was at this point. The man came to the side door, opened it, and again pulled him out by the jacket. He made his way up to the front door of the farmhouse and pressed the doorbell. A loud chime rang through the air.  
“Coming!” came a voice, before they could hear the door being unlocked and it suddenly opened to reveal Casey.  
She hesitated as she looked Taylor up and down.  
“I guess the weatherman was wrong, huh? Eric, take him out back and find him a change of clothes, would you?”  
She closed the door again, and the man rolled his eyes as Taylor scowled.  
“Let’s go,” he grumbled, pulling Taylor along again.  
They made their way around the side of the house and Taylor sighted a large shed at the end of the driveway. Realising that’s where they were headed, Taylor suddenly began digging his heels into the dirt.  
“Oh I am not going in there,” he shook his head decisively.  
“Yes, you are,” Eric corrected, now struggling to pull him along, “don’t make me hit you again.”

~*~


	24. 23

“I bet she’s not there,” Zac murmured spitefully as Dale drove toward the bus stop Josie had organised to meet them at.  
“You’re being paranoid man.”  
“I have a right to be paranoid,” Zac argued.  
“I wasn’t debating,” Dale insisted, “but man, she has no reason to lie to you. You know where she lives anyway.”  
Zac didn’t say anything more until they pulled into the street where the bus stop was. As they approached, there was no sign of anyone sitting there.  
“See?! She’s not there!” Zac exclaimed, fuming already.  
“Wait,” Dale insisted, squinting slightly.  
He pulled over nearby and pointed across the road. Josie had stepped out from behind the bus stop, looking a little nervous, before beginning to cross the road.  
“See? You were being…”  
“Paranoid, yeah I know. Shut up.”  
Dale unlocked the back door for her, and she quickly got in.  
“Drive,” Josie demanded.  
“Excuse me?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Do you want him back or not? I spoke to Casey this morning. You’d better move it.”  
“Where are we going, Josie?” Dale asked as he pulled out.  
“Just head North. I’ll give directions on the way.”  
“What did she say?” Zac began determinedly, turning in his seat to face her.  
“Nothing you’d want to hear,” Josie insisted with a frown.  
“If it concerns Taylor, I want to hear it,” Zac insisted, “I’m not exactly squeamish I’ll have you know.”  
“Can we say ‘duh’?” Josie gave him a scornful look.  
Then a completely different expression suddenly crossed her face.  
“Dale?”  
“Mhmm?”  
“Pull over here.”  
“Why?” Zac demanded.  
Josie waited until the car had stopped, and then leant forward and rest her arms on the car seat.  
“I’m your only chance of ever finding him again, right?”  
“Well unless we call the cops, yeah…” Zac trailed off, suddenly wondering what they were getting into.  
Josie bit her lip for a moment thoughtfully.  
“But you won’t, will you? Because if we get caught you do too, right?”  
“What does this have to do with anything?” Zac asked, exasperated.  
“It has everything to do with everything. I want to make you deal. If I lead you to the farmhouse, and Taylor’s there, you have to play my game. Right?”  
“So now you’re blackmailing me. You really are like your sister,” Zac’s eyes narrowed.

~*~


	25. 24

When Eric had taken Taylor to the shed, he’d simply opened a side door and pushed Taylor in. Now that Taylor had had a chance to look around where he’d been left, he’d seen that the room was barely a few metres square and there was another door on the other side. Neither doors had doorhandles. There was a single light bulb in the centre of the ceiling - which was higher than the walls by a few metres - that made sure he wasn’t in pitch black. The shed itself seemed to be sealed, and he was willing to bet it was sound proof.  
He’d been left there for what must have been hours, and he didn’t hear anything at all in that time. Many times he’d attempted to squeeze his hands through the cuffs on his wrists, but it wasn’t any easier than when he’d been in the field.  
At what he presumed must have been about midday he heard what sounded like a latch being unlocked from the inward door. That was followed by a few bolts and the rattle of keys before the door actually did open. And there stood Casey.  
“Get up,” she practically ordered.  
Taylor hesitated a moment before managing to push himself to his feet by leaning against the wall.  
“What are you going to do?” he asked, Casey smiling at the slight quiver in his voice.  
“I’m surprised you have to ask,” she replied, beckoning him over to the door.  
“How long?” Taylor closed his eyes a moment, silently praying for a good answer.  
“Until further notice. Come on.”  
Taylor hesitated again, simply not sure of what to do. His mind was racing, trying to come up with some sort of opportunity to get him out of this situation…  
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Casey arming her gun with a sigh.  
“I don’t want to keep having to do this. And it would be much easier if you just walked rather than us having to drag you with a bullet wound in your leg.”  
Taylor gulped a little at that, before glancing across at the outside door one last time and making his way over to her. When he got there she took his arm and pulled him through into a sort of thin hallway. This wasn’t lit, and they could only see where they were going by the light coming from the mass of doorways it had. Taylor soon realised it ran the length of the shed and it had just been simply sectioned off with divides.  
“I’d like you to meet someone,” Casey said suddenly as they came to the last doorway on the left.  
As she pushed Taylor through, he shivered when he saw what was in the room. It wasn’t quite as bad as he would have pictured, but obviously this was only one part of the shed.  
Blackened chains and cuffs hung from strategic places along the walls. In one corner there was a chair covered in restraints, in the opposite an actual cage with a single occupant already inside. A stainless steel bar ran along the wall to the right, and a modified sort of table sat to the left. The view wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for the occasional splatter of dark red and brown stains.  
“Taylor, this is Trey. And Trey, Taylor,” Casey introduced as she took Taylor’s arm again and pulled him over to the bar.  
The guy in the cage raised an eyebrow and waved. Taylor just gave him a curious look as Casey produced the key to his handcuffs, unlocking one side and securing it again once she’d slipped it around the bar.

~*~


	26. 25

“Take it or leave it,” Josie shrugged.  
Zac scowled and turned to Dale.  
“Lock the doors,” he ordered.  
The look on Josie’s face only turned to smug as Dale hit the central locking and she raised her eyebrows at Zac who leant further over the seat toward her.  
“And what if I took you now and promised you wouldn’t get out of it alive?” his eyes narrowed.  
Josie chuckled, and then tapped him on the nose.  
“Then you’d really never find Taylor, would you?”  
“We could always hunt down your sister and kill her as well.”  
Josie’s eyes narrowed.  
“I can bet my life that you’d be laying yours on the line.”  
“If that’s what it takes,” Zac shrugged.  
Josie hesitated, then sat back in the seat and folded her arms.  
“And what if you killed her and she hadn’t killed him yet? Huh? What if he dies of starvation or thirst because you were such a moron and couldn’t find him in time. How would you live with yourself?”  
“ _Yet?!_ ” Zac picked up on straight away.  
Josie just pursed her lips and looked out the window, ignoring him.  
“YET?” Zac yelled, “what the fuck do you mean by ‘yet’ Josie?!” he demanded, and if he could reach his hands would surely be on her.  
“I’ll tell you the way,” Josie said after a moment’s silence, “but if you don’t give me what I want I can’t promise that if you get out she won’t come after him again. She’s very determined.”  
“As can be seen by you,” Zac smouldered, before sitting upright again and glaring at the road.  
“Drive,” he ordered.  
Dale immediately started the car again and took off, knowing not to test Zac in even the smallest instance when he was in that mood. Aka: very pissed off.  
Zac ignored Josie’s sulking and kept his eyes on the road. Every now and then she’d murmur something about turning left or right and then reassured Dale whenever he’d give her a glance in obvious need of it.  
Eventually, seeming to be out in the middle of nowhere, Josie instructed Dale to pull over.  
“What are we doing?” Zac demanded.  
“We’re here. Unless you want to drive up to the house and announce your arrival via pea gravel.”  
“We’re here,” Zac agreed and got out of the car.  
He went to open Josie’s door for her as Dale unlocked her door. She ignored him as she got out, then pointed up to a homestead and large tin shed on a hill possibly half a mile away.  
“That’s it,” she said.

~*~


	27. 26

“So what’s your story?”  
Taylor jumped as Trey spoke for the first time since Casey had left the room. He glanced toward him nervously, before hanging his head again.  
“What do you mean?” he asked softly.  
“How did you meet her?” Trey shrugged, “how did you… catch her eye?”  
“How did you?” Taylor returned, not looking up.  
Trey hesitated, then sat back and shifted his legs slightly.  
“She had a crush on me in junior college,” he admitted with a sigh, “my ‘rents moved to California about a month after I found out and took me with them. We just got back last month, she found out, and…I guess this is punishment for not asking her out.”  
Taylor gulped at that and closed his eyes.  
“How long have you been here?”  
“About a fortnight I should think. Now it’s your turn.”  
“I didn’t know her,” Taylor said straight out, “she… knew my brother was, sort of like her. Wanted to trade me for her sister.”  
“So they did?”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, “my brother refused. She came after me when we were in LA.”  
“LA?” Trey frowned, “I wouldn’t have thought she’d go to the trouble…”  
“Well she did,” Taylor took a deep breath.  
“Why’d your brother not agree to it?” Trey asked innocently.  
“He knows I can’t handle it,” Taylor’s eyes opened, though he only squinted down at the handcuffs.  
“I’m claustrophobic.”

“If anyone comes out to this car other than myself or Taylor, leave,” Zac insisted in a low voice as he leaned in Dale’s window.  
“Gotcha man,” Dale gave him a ‘thumbs up’.  
“Hurry up,” Josie grumbled from something like ten metres away.  
“Good luck man.”  
“Thanks, I think I’ll need it.”  
With that, Dale wound his window up and began his wait. Zac in turn, began to follow Josie up the driveway.

Casey suddenly stormed into the room, making Taylor jump.  
“HURRY UP!” she yelled, as both Taylor and Trey saw she had something made of black leather in her hands.  
Her cousin soon appeared in the doorway.  
“We have company,” she told him, before throwing the leather to the ground, “get those on him and prepare him for viewing in an hour’s time. And get him out of those damn wet clothes. I’ll take care of Trey.”  
“Already?!” Trey looked up, startled as Casey made for his cage and revealed her gun.  
She threw him the keys.  
“Unlock it and get out,” she instructed, the gun trained on him.

~*~


	28. 27

“How do we get in?” Zac asked suddenly.  
“I figured we might ring the doorbell,” Josie scorned.  
Zac glared at her, then eyed off the shed.  
“Is that where she keeps her toys?”  
“Yeah.”  
“What the hell does she have? You could fit fifty elephants in there.”  
“She has built up quite a collection over the years, I’ll admit. The house eventually had no more room and besides… she likes to invite people over occasionally.”  
“So she lives here? I thought she lived with you?”  
“She spends most of her days and late nights here. Our parents think she studies.”  
By the time they made it up to the house, both of them were pretty worn out from the walk. Josie indicated for Zac to follow her, and though he had a bad feeling about it he obliged.  
When they got to the shed, Josie took him around to a back door.  
“Do you know what you’re doing?” he demanded in a whisper, in case they could be heard.  
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Josie insisted, producing a set of keys.  
She unlocked the door and indicated for Zac to enter. He glanced at her sceptically for a moment, before walking past her and into the room the door opened into. The fluorescent lighting played with his eyes as she closed the door behind them, then pointed upward to indicate where the walls didn’t quite touch the ceiling.  
“Now all you have to do is listen, you’ll find them,” she whispered.  
Zac gave her a curious look, before looking up. He’d figured once they’d walked in that the entire shed had been sectioned off into different rooms, but he still wasn’t all that sure whether he should actually trust her or not. He decided to play it by ear, and listened carefully.  
He did hear what sounded like footsteps to their left, but further over. Recognising this, he headed for the opposite door and opened it onto a small hallway. He noticed with a little unease that Josie refused to follow him, probably afraid of being caught out by her sister he figured.  
It was when Zac was in the walkway that he began to hear voices down the other end. One male voice, and one female. But the male wasn’t Taylor’s.  
He barely had time to comprehend this before the male voice rose to yelling and a sudden gunshot rang out, causing him to falter in his steps. He hadn’t exactly come prepared for the use of guns.  
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, his mind raced for an idea. He knew he was out of his league here – if Casey had a gun and she even caught sight of him he’d be at her mercy. Not only because she could very well shoot him, but she already had Taylor who she could use as blackmail.  
He tried not to think about it. At the moment his main priority was finding Taylor.  
Preferably alive and unharmed…

~*~


	29. 28

“If you make a single sound…” Eric instructed, “a moan, a cough, a sneeze, a clink of metal, anything - she’ll kill him, and you can watch. And then I’ll kill you.”  
Taylor gulped and closed his eyes, standing back against the wall. He didn’t need to see Eric to know that a gun was less than a foot from his right temple.  
He now adorned jeans and a plain white shirt, as Eric had made him change. They’d also taken his boots, for a reason soon to be made known.  
“Understand?”  
Taylor nodded.  
“Good.”

Casey left the room she’d been with Trey in and closed the door behind her. She hesitated and glanced at her watch, before readying her gun again.  
She made her way down the hallway to the room Zac had just emerged from, and opened that door to find Josie looking anxious.  
“Who is it?” she whispered, closing the door.  
“It’s Zac,” Josie began to look hopeful, “do you think you could…”  
Casey cursed.  
“It wasn’t supposed to be him!” she exclaimed.  
“I know, I know,” Josie shook her head, “but it was. No one else came looking for him, I swear. I mean there’s a guy waiting in the car out front but I don’t think anyone else knows…”  
“Where’s the other one?”  
“Isaac? Probably still in LA, I haven’t seen him.”  
Casey hesitated, chewing her bottom lip. Then she drew her gun from her belt once again.  
“I guess if I have to do it, I have to do it.”  
“Casey, no,” Josie pleaded, “can you please keep him for me? Blackmail him even? I swear I’ll be in your debt.”  
Casey stopped herself, and then sighed.  
“You know I can’t promise anything in this situation Jo. Least of all with someone like him. I can’t let them leave.”  
“Then at least let me have some time with him before you do it.”  
“I’ll think about it,” Casey promised, moving forward to give her sister a hug, “and I promise I’ll make an effort. This won’t be like Craig.”  
“I hope not,” Josie almost scowled.  
“Go back to the house,” Casey insisted, “get yourself something to eat and have a rest. I’ll let you know what happens.”  
“Ok,” Josie nodded, “thankyou.”  
“Thankyou,” Casey returned, “I wouldn’t have him if it weren’t for you.”

Zac continued down the hallway, beginning to open random doors. He’d stopped to listen before every one, but knew as he was getting to the further corner of the shed that he had to be getting close and he was getting even more cautious as the seconds passed.  
Eventually he began to hear footsteps again, but this time they were behind him.

~*~


	30. 29

“Move into the door on your left, if you will,” came Casey’s voice.  
Zac hesitated, already sure there was a gun on his back. He turned anyway just to make sure, before doing as she’d asked.  
She followed him into the room, and closed and locked the door.  
“Where is he?” Zac demanded.  
“I think the better question is – what are you doing here?”  
“You know what I want. I want my brother back,” Zac glared.  
“Why?”  
“Because he doesn’t want to do this,” Zac practically pleaded, “he’s made it painfully obvious throughout the years. I grew to respect it.”  
“Well aren’t you an idiot,” Casey just smirked.  
“No, I just happen to care about family.”  
Casey glared at that.  
“And what makes you think that I don’t?”  
“I never even hinted at that. I just explained my position. Now what do you want?”  
“I have what I want,” Casey shrugged, “it just seems that I need to prove it to you.”  
“What do you want from _me_?” Zac shook his head.  
“I want you to leave us alone. Obviously you’re not going to.”  
Zac couldn’t help but roll his eyes.  
“So now what?”  
“Well I obviously can’t let you go,” she shrugged.  
“Why?”  
“You’d rat on me, of course.”  
“Why would I do that when I know you could blackmail me anyway?”  
“I don’t think that’d stand in the way somehow,” she shook her head almost sadly, before lowering her gun.  
Her finger pulled on the trigger, and the blast that echoed through the shed made Taylor almost jump out of his skin.  
A yell from Zac soon followed as he fell to the ground and grabbed at his right leg.  
“Sorry,” Casey shrugged, “but I can’t let you leave.”  
“What have you done with Taylor?!” Zac demanded, voice rising with his pain as blood began to seep between his fingers.  
“He’s right over there,” Casey pointed lazily to the corner.  
A curtain obviously having been covering a cage dropped, and the gun was back at Taylor’s neck in an instant.  
“Tay?!”  
“Move and I’ll put a bullet in your other leg,” Casey warned with a scowl.  
Zac gulped as he glanced at her, before returning his gaze to his brother in the tall cage only big enough for he and the gunman with him.  
“Tay. Tay, are you ok?” Zac almost hissed.  
“He’s been instructed not to speak,” Casey informed him cockily as Taylor just blinked, “and for fear of your life it seems he’s willing to obey.”  
“You would not kill me,” Zac scorned.  
“Wouldn’t I?”  
Zac just glared at her.  
“This may come as a huge shock to you,” Casey said softly, “but I’m not exactly new to this.”

~*~


	31. 30

“You do know who you’re dealing with, right?”  
“Of course I do,” Casey scorned, “Taylor Hanson. Last seen in a café with older brother Isaac in Los Angeles. Zac Hanson. Last spotted in Tulsa airport getting into a car. In quite a rush I might add. I’m very good at staging both homicides and suicides you know. Remember Jeremy Winter?”  
Taylor’s eyes widened as Zac scowled.  
“Messy suicide, yes, but it got rid of the DNA evidence on him didn’t it? Oh how he hated his family…”  
“How do you plan to explain the bullet in my leg?” Zac asked between his teeth.  
“I’m sure you’ll find out the whole story in time. I’m just not willing to let Taylor get too worked up yet.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot toward her.  
“Maybe I’ll tell you when you’re not in the same room.”  
“I’m not leaving him,” Zac insisted.  
“You’re right, he’s leaving you. Eric? Go tie him down or something. I’ll be out when I’ve gotten Zac a little better acquainted with the general area.”  
Zac’s eyebrows rose as Eric struggled for a moment to open the door of the cage before stepping out. His eyes fell to Taylor’s feet.  
“You can’t expect him to walk like that.”  
“He’s already been on them for half an hour, I’m sure he’ll manage,” Casey waved him off.  
“Half an hour?!” Zac exclaimed as Eric pulled Taylor forward.  
He stumbled slightly.  
“You do realise they’re meant for women?” Zac looked confused.  
“They’re not any less painful across genders,” Casey rolled her eyes, referring to the trainers, or ‘horse cuffs’ secured over the bridge of Taylor’s ankles forcing him to stand on his toes.  
Taylor gave Zac one last fearful glance before Eric pulled him from the room.  
“So now what?” Zac demanded, feeling his eyes getting heavy – his pain barrier having kicked in a moment ago.  
“First of all, you’re going to be minimally restrained. Then I’m going to give you some medical attention.”  
“You’re threatening to kill me, yet you don’t want me to bleed to death?” Zac almost laughed.  
“I don’t need you dying yet. My sister’s too infatuated for her to let me live it down.”  
“You’re only keeping me alive for your sister?”  
Casey detached a set of handcuffs from her belt and threw them to him.  
“And for Taylor’s mental health,” she added, flicking some hair out her eyes, “now cuff yourself to that rail on the wall right there. Your left hand.”

~*~


	32. 31

“Don’t do this to him,” Zac pleaded as Casey was bandaging his shin.  
“Why not?” Casey asked, sounding tired but genuinely interested in his answer.  
“He can’t handle it.”  
“It won’t kill him.”  
“It might. You don’t know.”  
“How would it?” Casey shook her head, sounding annoyed, “seriously. A few scratches and bruises never killed anyone. A bit of a scare didn’t either.”  
“Well then whoever they are, they’re different.”  
Casey grunted to herself as she tightened the bandage and tied it off, then sat and looked Zac directly in the eye.  
“Why is he so special in this instance then?” she demanded.  
“Look, he’s just… delicate, ok?”  
“Awww…”  
“He’s had bad experiences.”  
“Haven’t we all…”  
“Not like that!”  
Casey simply raised an eyebrow. Zac sighed.  
“He’s got phobias.”  
“Oh really?” Casey’s eyes couldn’t help but light up slightly.  
Zac noticed.  
“Don’t you dare,” he suddenly glared.  
“Well if it’s involving this I’m bound to find out eventually, right?” she shrugged, “wouldn’t it be easier if you just told me?”  
“ _Hell_ no,” Zac shook his head for emphasis.  
“Then I guess we’ll find out the hard way,” Casey shrugged, standing up.  
“Then be warned,” Zac’s voice lowered as he struggled to sit up and lean forward, “that I will get you back for this.”  
“Really?”  
“Just because you’ve taken my cell, it doesn’t mean people don’t know where we are.”  
Casey just gave him a blank stare, before turning and leaving the room. Zac hesitated a further moment, before leaning back again and cringing at the pain in his leg.

Taylor’s head shot toward the door as he heard Casey’s footsteps coming. He heard her speak to Eric outside for a moment before opening the door and smiling as she laid eyes on him.  
“I hope Eric wasn’t too rough on you,” she insisted, walking over to the table he was restrained to.  
His wrists had been secured above his head, his ankles to the other end, and the cuffs were still on his feet. He gulped as he looked up at her.  
“You can talk now by the way. It was just while your brother was snooping around.”  
“What are you going to do to him?” Taylor’s voice shook.  
“Nothing if he behaves. Or if you behave.”

~*~


	33. 32

“Your brother tells me you have some phobias,” Casey began, studying his figure before walking over to a nearby cabinet.  
Taylor just cringed and turned away from her.

Meanwhile, Eric had gone outside with a pair of binoculars, focusing them down the driveway. He soon sighted Dale’s car before making his way inside the farmhouse.  
“Josie?!”  
“Eric?” he heard her voice from the living room.  
He made his way in and saw her sitting on the sofa with the TV remote in her hand.  
“That car at the end of the driveway,” he began, “is there anyone in it, or does it belong to them?”  
“It’s a guy named Dale, he’s a friend of Zac’s,” Josie murmured, taking the TV off mute again, “he drove us here.”  
Eric nodded, then left the room. He headed down to one of the bedrooms, fetching something from one of the cupboards as fast as he could before leaving through the back door again.  
Making his way out to the porch, he quickly set up a stand. Checking one last time through the binoculars, he quickly loaded his rifle.

Dale had just been reading a magazine he’d had in the back seat. He’d gone through it once already, but he couldn’t find another and he was bored enough to go through it again. He wasn’t even sure if it was his…  
He leant over to grab his can of drink and took a sip, his eyes not leaving the page he was on. Going to put it back on the passenger seat, he wasn’t watching what he was doing and inadvertently ended up knocking the can over. Cursing quite loudly to himself, he quickly leant over to grab the can and start trying to clear up the spill. It was barely the second that he did this that both the front windows seemed to spontaneously explode.  
“SHIT!” he yelled, shielding his head.  
He could feel small pieces of glass covering his back, some already creeping down between his clothes.  
Hesitating for a moment, he looked up. His window had come inward, the other had gone outward. So whatever had caused the windows to break had come from the left of the car.  
From the farmhouse.  
“Shit,” he repeated, fiddling with the keys and trying to fit them into the ignition again. When he got them in he quickly started the car, and without raising any body parts above the doors he managed to pull out onto the road.  
Another two loud bangs were heard hitting the side of the car (luckily toward the back) before he really put his foot on it and took off down the road. Only when he was sure he was at a safe angle did he finally sit up and swerve to avoid going off the road.

As soon as Eric had seen the car take off, he disconnected the rifle from the stand and rushed over to his van. Throwing it into the passenger seat, he started it, sped down the driveway as fast as he could safely, and took up the chase.

~*~


	34. 33

Dale managed to find his cell phone and dial Isaac’s number while driving with just his left hand. Heck, it wasn’t as if he had to change gears.  
“Come on man, pick _up_!”  
“Yello?” came Isaac’s voice.  
“IKE!”  
“Dale?”  
“Yeah man! Look, your bros are in some serious trouble man…”  
“I know this.”  
“Would you fucking listen to me man? I almost got _shot_. Now some guy is chasing me in his van. I have no windows, Ike. I HAVE NO WINDOWS!”  
“I’m still in LA Dale.”  
“Well woop de do for you. Did you hear me?! If I live through this, someone’s paying for my car!”  
“What do you expect me to do about it Dale?” Isaac asked calmly, “having reminded you that I’m in LA and all.”  
“Look, you’re the only one I knew to call. If I die and Tay and Zac get stuck here, you need to know the address so you can at least either find their bodies or sue the bitch or whatever. Want to quit fucking around and let me give it to you?”

Taylor shivered when he saw the dagger in Casey’s hand as she made her way back over to him.  
“You don’t care to let me in on these phobias, do you?”  
“How do you honestly expect to get away with this?” Taylor breathed, eyebrows furrowed.  
She felt his body jump when she placed her left hand on his stomach.  
“I’ve done it many times before, and I will again.”  
“But we’re in the public eye,” Taylor’s voice cracked as he shook his head, “how would it work?”  
“Well if you wouldn’t say anything, obviously there’d be no problem.”  
“How could we not?”  
Casey paused, and then leant down over him so her face was close to his.  
“Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?” she whispered.  
She noticed his breathing heavy as he didn’t reply.  
“I’ll take your silence as consent.”  
Then she lowered her voice even further.  
“I’ll continue on as I am,” she barely whispered, “and you and your brother will be dead.”

“You got it man?!”  
“Yeah I got it. Dale? Don’t die.”  
“’Don’t die’ he says,” Dale murmured, “yeah well I’ll try. And if I survive I’ll see you soon.”

~*~


	35. 34

“Of course now that you know, you won’t be able to speak with him again,” Casey added almost sadly.  
“W-what?” Taylor stuttered, his eyes never leaving her.  
“Well you’d tell him, wouldn’t you? And of course he wouldn’t let me get away with it. We’re a certain kind, Taylor. Our minds work in certain ways. I’m sure he’s hatching a plan even as we speak to get the two of you out of here.”  
“He has a bullet in his leg.”  
He jumped suddenly and his mouth hung slightly open as he felt a hot sting in his right hip.  
“Don’t state the obvious,” Casey insisted, watching his eyes.  
His pupils dilated slightly before she removed the dagger, then went to get a piece of cloth. She placed the dagger on a nearby bench before attempting to clean up some of the blood.  
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she commented as he squeezed his tearing eyes shut, “don’t hold your breath, it’s not healthy.”

Dale ducked again as the back window of his car suddenly blew out.  
“SHIT!”  
He glanced back for a moment, noticing how the van was indeed slowly catching up. Mumbling to himself, he began fiddling with his phone again. Then a monstrous bang suddenly rang out and because his car was already going something like 85 miles an hour, the loss of a tyre (as Dale soon realised it was) caused it to turn suddenly.  
The car careered from the road, through a fence and into a paddock, at one point only two of the remaining three tyres in contact with the bitumen.  
Dale only began to panic when he realised the car was slowing down. He knew he had to get it back to the road. Spinning it as hard as he could, he couldn’t have had worse timing. The car fell sideways into a ditch and Dale was flung forward, hitting his head on the steering wheel before rocks completely shattered the front windscreen. He couldn’t help but yell out as the shards of glass came into contact with his face and chest before the car came to a sudden halt upside down.  
When Dale managed to catch his breath, he carefully unbuckled his seatbelt and fell sideways to the roof of the car.  
Knowing he had to get out of there, he began to crawl out of the wreckage over all the broken glass scattered everywhere. His hands and arms were again cut along with any other piece of skin left bare. When he finally made it outside, it was a struggle to get to his hands and knees.  
And yet when he sensed someone standing over him and finally looked up, the last thing he saw was the barrel of a rifle.

Isaac had already boarded the first plane back to Tulsa. He may have sounded calm over the phone to Dale, but that had been when he hadn’t known that the next available flight left so early. Due in Tulsa in a few hours, he settled back and tried to sleep for the remainder of the flight.

~*~


	36. 35

“Well it’s not knives you’re afraid of,” Casey stated bluntly, pouting a little.  
Taylor had reduced to panting, and cringing every now and then at the pain in his hip.  
“Let’s see what else we have then…”  
She’d made her way back to the cupboard and begun to search through. After some time he heard her humming before returning to his table.  
“Your knuckles are white,” she noticed idly after glancing at his fists, “come on, it’s not that bad.”  
Taylor couldn’t even roll his eyes. Then he saw her hold a syringe up in front of his eyes, filled with a clear-yet-musty liquid.  
“How about these?” she asked with a smile.  
Taylor just gulped and squeezed his eyes shut, beginning to wish that she’d hurry up and get over with absolutely everything she planned to do to him.  
Even as he thought it, he regretted it.  
“No?”  
He heard her put the needle away and breathed a sigh of relief. Again she hummed to herself before he suddenly heard a cell phone ringing.  
 _His_ cell phone. He heard Casey pick it up, chuckle, and then answer it.  
“Where are you?” she asked straight away, sounding almost annoyed, “yeah he’s here. Zac too actually…Uh huh. What time? …Sure thing. I’ll make sure Eric knows. See you soon.”  
She hung up, and Taylor opened his eyes in time to see her put his phone on the adjacent bench.  
“We should have a visitor in a couple of hours,” Casey informed him idly.  
“Who?” Taylor gasped out, beginning to wonder exactly how many people were in on it.  
“Oh let’s make it a surprise. Someone who’s dying to see you though.”  
She made her way around to his hands and carefully slipped hers over his fists. He shivered, keeping his eyes away from her.  
“I need to go up to the house for a moment to talk to my sister,” she said softly, “perhaps she could shed some light on this situation. Do you think you can keep your voice down until I get back?”  
Taylor gulped a little, feeling her softly trying to pry his fists open. He eventually gave in, gasping slightly at the pain in his hip when he did so and squeezing his eyes shut again.  
“No?” Casey’s eyebrows rose.  
“Yes!” Taylor exclaimed, suddenly realising what he might have consigned himself to, “yes, yes. Dear God, yes.”  
Casey considered his reaction for a moment.  
“Was that from the pain or perhaps another reason?” she asked, mostly to herself.  
“The pain,” Taylor insisted with yet another gulp, opening his eyes again.  
“I’m not so sure,” Casey shook her head, before making her way back over to the cupboard.  
“Oh God,” Taylor moaned, closing his eyes again.

~*~


	37. 36

Zac had his head down and was listening carefully to any footsteps in the shed. When he heard the door close after Casey, he remembered that Eric had previously left, and finally lifted his head.  
“TAY?!” he yelled, hoping that the shed actually _was_ sound proof.  
He hesitated, and then shook his head. He’d either been knocked out or shut up.  
Zac again wiped the sweat from his forehead, already annoyed with the shivers that had started. He put it down to blood loss, as he was also beginning to feel nauseas. He’d already inspected the handcuffs on his wrist. They were similar but not the same to ones he’d previously used, so he wasn’t sure how to attempt picking the locks. Not that he had anything to do it with…  
He checked his pockets over again. Casey had taken the obvious things, like his cell phone, keys and wallet, but he was hoping she might have at least missed something.  
“Ah crap!” Zac exclaimed, hitting himself gently on the forehead as he mentally berated himself.  
He reached down carefully to his left shoe. Pulling the sole apart a little, he fetched a small length of wire – not even three inches long – from inside the tread.  
“First… rule… of the business,” Zac murmured to himself, beginning to use it to work on the lock.  
“Learn how to pick locks. Second rule, always have something to do it _with_.”  
It took him some time, but he finally got it open.

Meanwhile, Casey was looking for Josie in the farmhouse. She soon found her, asleep on the couch in front of the television. Wondering for a moment where Eric had gotten to she shook her sister awake.  
“Mmm… what?”  
“I need your help with something.”  
Josie sat up suddenly, rubbing her eyes.  
“You didn’t screw up, did you?”  
“Of course not,” her older sister scorned, “you’re a big Hanson fan though, right? You’d know what Taylor’s phobias were if anyone did.”  
“I know he’s claustrophobic,” Josie shrugged a little, struggling to keep her eyes open, “but if there’s anything else I don’t know about it. Where’s Zac?”  
“Zac’s fine,” Casey insisted, “thanks.”  
She let her sister get back to sleep, and went to quickly get herself something to eat.

Zac had managed to actually stand and hop toward the door. Not surprised to find it locked, he began picking that lock hoping that she didn’t have a chain or something on the other side holding it shut. His hopes were realised when the lock clicked and he could open the door inward.  
Hopping again, he slipped the wire into the pocket of his jeans and began down the hallway to where he knew Taylor had to be. When he came to the area he’d heard Casey’s footsteps coming from, he tried every door and ignored the ones that would open. When he came to the one that was locked, he’d know he’d found his brother.

~*~


	38. 37

When Casey had put something together for herself, she made her way to the phone and called Eric.  
“Yeah?” was his grumble of a greeting.  
“Where are you?”  
“About eight miles down toward town. Why?”  
“I have a visitor arriving in the next hour or so. Blue commodore. Don’t harm her, will you?”  
“Ok.”  
“What are you doing anyway?”  
“There was a guy waiting for your pets outside. I got rid of him.”  
“Good. See you soon.”  
She hung up before he could reply, hearing him struggling with something anyway and knowing he wouldn’t be able to carry out a long conversation. When she was done, she began to make her way back to the shed.

When Zac finally found the locked door and managed to get it open, he stopped for a moment to see if he could hear anything. There was nothing out of the ordinary, so he carefully opened the door (again pocketing the wire). When he spotted Taylor he didn’t even bother to shut the door behind him before going to his side as fast as he could. Taylor could only look back up at him.  
“Damn Tay…” Zac trailed off, catching sight of his bloodied hip.  
He scratched his head awkwardly, before looking up and down his brother’s body trying to spot anything else. Taylor tried to say something, but it was muffled.  
“Hang on Tay,” he insisted, before managing to move around to his wrists.  
He took a look at the cuffs holding his wrists to a bar beneath the very edge of the table and cursed to himself. They were locked with a combination lock, one that would take a while to crack the code on.  
“Tay? I need you to do something for me,” Zac began softly, kneeling down to get easier access, “I need you to pull on the cuffs as hard as you can and only let go when I say. I know it hurts but you have to if I’m going to unlock it. Ok?”  
Taylor managed to nod, closing his eyes.  
“Ok,” Zac breathed, “and go.”  
He saw the chains tightened and quickly went to work on rotating the numerals. He kept his ear as close to the lock as he could without making it awkward to twist, so he could hear if any of the mechanics slipped into place. Ten seconds later, he knew the first number.  
“One down,” he informed Taylor, “four to go. Keep pulling.”  
Taylor did, and Zac moved to the next line of numerals. It was just as he heard the click of the next number falling into place that he also heard the shed door opening.  
“Shit,” he murmured under his breath as Taylor’s breathing started to heavy.  
“Tay? Tay?” Zac got his attention in whispers as he stood and hopped to the side, “I’ll be back for you, ok?! You’ll be just fine. I’ll be back. But I have to go for now.”  
Taylor was shaking his head emphatically.  
“I’m sorry,” Zac insisted, backing toward the door as he heard the shed door close.  
He soon disappeared.

~*~


	39. 38

Casey made her way back to the section of the shed where Taylor still lay. Unlocking the door again and stepping through, Taylor couldn’t help but shiver when he saw the smile on her face.  
“You learn some interesting things from Hanson fans,” she said absently, moving across to the cupboard as soon as she closed the door behind her.  
Taylor didn’t like the sound of that.  
She came back over to him rather quickly, and he saw a key in her hand. Closing his eyes in slight relief, he turned his head to the side so that she could unlock the padlock on the bar gag she’d fastened to his head previously. When it was off he exercised his jaw, at the same time wondering what she was going to do and hoping she wouldn’t realise that the lock on his cuffs was partially free.  
“You’re shivering,” she noted casually, going to drop the gag on a bench before returning to his side.  
“It hurts,” was Taylor’s stammered reasoning.  
“Oh you’re such a baby.”  
She looked him over again, then sighed and went back to the bench. She picked up the dagger she’d used earlier and stopped at his feet.  
“We only have about an hour,” she informed him, running her fingers over the toes on his right foot, “until your attention is diverted by someone else. I guess I’d better make it productive…”  
“You don’t have to,” Taylor insisted, shaking his head with his eyes to the roof.  
Casey sighed dramatically, as if she was getting frustrated with a small child.  
“And where exactly is the fun in that? Come on. I’m sure you’re not as daft as you’re making out to be.”  
Taylor just clenched his teeth before she used two fingers to separate his smallest toe from the next.  
“What are you doing?” he breathed.  
“Having fun, of course. It’s what you’re here for after all.”  
Then he felt a searing sting as the dagger suddenly pierced the webbing between his toes and couldn’t help but cry out.

Zac meanwhile, heard it. He’d made his way further down the hallway, suddenly more intent on keeping quiet as apposed to hiding himself. If she didn’t realise he was missing then she had no reason to go looking for him after all.  
He eventually slipped into one of the rooms and began to check out the contents. Maybe if he found at least one cell phone…some keys…maybe even some ID…or if he was lucky, any of his or Taylor’s possessions.  
He soon deciphered that the room he’d entered had none of the above, and quietly moved onto the next.

~*~


	40. 39

Possibly half an hour later, Eric was making his way back. He noticed the blue commodore pulling into the driveway and nodded to himself in recognition. He followed it up with his van, and while the commodore parked by the farmhouse he continued to make his way around the back. When he finally got out he heard the side door of the shed opening and closing, signalling that the newcomer had already made their way in.

Casey’s head shot up and her eyebrows rose.  
“Who is it?” she called out.  
“Just me,” came a female reply.  
A scowl crossed Zac’s face when he recognised it. Taylor just looked confused, knowing he knew the voice but just not able to put his finger on whose it was.  
“Where are you?!” the voice called again a moment later, her footsteps clearly heard.  
“Back and centre!” Casey called out, smiling down at Taylor.  
The footsteps came even closer and they just waited until the door opened. When Taylor saw who it was, his eyes widened.  
“ZA-!” he began to yell before Casey slapped her hand over his mouth.  
“He doesn’t look too pleased to see me,” Janelle shrugged.  
“He’ll get used to it,” Casey insisted, before looking down at him again, “now. Can I take my hand away? And I’ll remind you I’m very good with blackmail when it comes to the wellbeing of your brother.”  
Taylor instantly nodded, trying to catch his breath. Casey lifted her hand carefully as Janelle made her way over. She soon saw his hip.  
“You stabbed him already?”  
“Why not? It’s not in a lethal place.”  
“No, he’ll just get sick,” Janelle frowned, before putting a hand to his forehead.  
Taylor flinched as she did, but kept his eyes on her all the same. She tsked a little before going to put her shoulder bag on the bench.  
“What?” Casey frowned, noticing her reaction.  
“It’s going to hurt him,” Janelle insisted.  
“It doesn’t matter in the end anyway.”  
Janelle thought that over, and then nodded.  
“You’re right.”  
Taylor’s eyes were darting between them, wondering exactly what it was they were talking about and sure it was focused around him.  
“Don’t look so worried,” Janelle chuckled, “you know I’ve been wanting to catch up with you for a long time.”  
“Long before you went out with my brother,” Taylor glared suddenly.  
“Don’t be petty,” Janelle tapped him on the nose as if to tell him off, making Casey grin.  
“Would you prefer it if I left the room?” Casey suggested.  
“Not before you help me move him. I need him on the floor.”  
“What are you doing?!” Taylor exclaimed, now really beginning to worry as Casey began to free his ankles.  
“How long have those been on him?” Janelle nodded to the trainers.

~*~


	41. 40

“Since early this afternoon,” Casey replied.  
“Well they can come off,” Janelle waved her hand dismissingly.  
Taylor couldn’t help but feel relieved at that, even as he was unnerved by what they were planning to do. He felt Casey unlocking them and pulling them from his bloodied feet, but he still couldn’t bend them backward just yet.  
He grimaced as he pulled his knees into his chest and Casey made her way around to his wrists.  
“Put your legs down,” Janelle instructed calmly as Casey inspected the lock.  
“This has been tampered with,” she came out with, making Taylor’s eyes widen.  
“Maybe he tried to unlock it?” Janelle suggested.  
“No, that’s impossible from his position,” Casey frowned, pulling her gun from her belt.  
“Stay here, I’m going to go check on Zac.”  
Taylor gulped again and closed his eyes, hoping neither had seen his reaction.  
“Did your little brother visit you?” Janelle asked in a childish tone, playing with his hair.

Casey made it to the room Zac had been in and opened the door. She wasn’t really expecting to see him when the door had been unlocked in the first place, but somehow it was still a bit of a shock.  
“Zachary?!” she called out suddenly, as he slipped into the last room of his corridor.  
Casey sighed to herself before arming her gun.  
“Don’t make me hurt him Zachary!”  
Taylor’s eyes opened when he heard that.  
 _As if you weren’t going to,_ was Zac’s thought as he looked around the room for a place to conceal himself.  
It was as he did this that he looked to the floor and realised for the first time that she was going to find him eventually anyway.  
Casey meanwhile had already spotted the blood trail he was leaving and begun to follow it. She saw that it made its way in and out of quite a few doors, before she came to the last and the door opened just as she was about to reach for it.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, stepping back with the gun trained on him already, “do you really want a bullet in your other leg?”  
“I was taking in the scenery,” Zac scorned, managing to limp out from the room and lean against the wall, “you know you should have more windows installed. It’d give the place such a more welcoming feeling.”  
“Shut. Up.”  
“Where do you want me?” Zac sighed.  
“Six feet under,” Casey smiled innocently, “but unfortunately that can’t happen. For now you can just go straight back into the room you just came from.”  
Zac rolled his eyes and turned to go down the corridor. Casey grabbed his arm.  
“Not that room. _This_ room,” she corrected, indicating the one he’d just stepped out from.  
Zac groaned inwardly, but complied.

~*~


	42. 41

Casey indicated a chair in the corner. Zac looked over at it before giving her a condescending look.  
“Go on,” she said, waving the gun toward it.  
Zac sighed and limped over to it, eventually collapsing into it and placing his arms on the arm rests carefully. Casey replaced the gun to her belt before beginning to put the latches in place, starting of course with his wrists.  
“What exactly do you plan to do when this is over?” he demanded suddenly.  
“Nothing,” she replied.  
“Nothing?”  
“Nothing about _this_ if that was what you were asking.”  
She finished what she was doing, then stood up from where she’d been kneeling and flashed a set of keys at him.  
“Guess you won’t be going anywhere for a while. I’ll send my sister in later to see you.”  
“Brilliant,” Zac rolled his eyes, letting his head hit the board behind it.  
“I knew you’d be thrilled. Bye now.”  
She waved and departed, making her way back to the room with the shed’s remaining two occupants.  
Taylor’s head turned more suddenly than he intended as he heard her entering, and he cursed slightly when it caused a sudden headache. Janelle only chuckled as Casey made her way over and fixed the lock on the cuffs, making them even tighter on his wrists as if to spite him. He flinched as one pinched his skin.  
“Little brother’s all safely tucked away now,” Janelle almost giggled, patting him on the face as he struggled to try and hide it from her behind his arm.  
“That he is,” Casey insisted with a sigh, “where do you want him?”  
“As I said, on the floor. It’d be too awkward on the table,” Janelle pointed out.  
“True. But you’ll have to help me lift him.”  
“That would be why I asked.”  
“What are you doing?!” Taylor exclaimed for what seemed the thousandth time, knowing he probably wasn’t going to like the answer anyway.  
“You’ll soon see,” Janelle replied enthusiastically, which had already become the last thing Taylor wanted to hear from either of them.  
“Hold his wrist,” Casey instructed, before Taylor felt Janelle take hold of his left with both hands almost as tight as she could.  
Casey unlocked the cuff before slipping it through the bar and fastening it to his wrist once again. Finally able to bring his arms down from above his head, Taylor groaned as they ached when he did so.  
He heard Casey make her way to the cupboard again before returning to his feet, and he began to feel her putting what felt like straps around his ankles. When he actually looked down he saw that they were actually proper ankle cuffs and he groaned again before covering his eyes with his hands.  
“Ready?” Casey asked when she was done, “on three.”  
She counted, and the two of them lifted Taylor from the table and set him on the floor beside it. Taylor just looked up at both of them, now getting beyond worried.

~*~


	43. 42

The second that Taylor had a hint of what they were planning to do, he was up from the floor and backing toward the door. Not even Casey having pulled the gun on him already deterred him.  
“No,” he shook his head insistently.  
“It won’t be that bad,” Janelle almost pleaded with him.  
“No!” Taylor emphasized, his right hand awkwardly fiddling with the door handle.  
“Taylor, get back down here,” Casey insisted, clicking the gun off safety.  
Taylor looked to the ceiling when he found the door locked, then instantly began looking around for where the keys might be. Then he saw them – on Casey’s belt.  
She smiled when she caught the look in his eye.  
“There is no way out,” she stated the obvious, “and it’d be a lot easier on you if you cooperated.”  
He just shook his head, his eyes not leaving the keys until one of them moved.  
“Doesn’t he look like a caged animal?” Janelle asked suddenly.  
Casey grinned.  
“You can’t do this,” Taylor practically pleaded, trying the door again.  
“Can and are,” Casey corrected, aiming the gun at Taylor’s legs, “don’t make me ask again.”  
“Don’t shoot him,” Janelle insisted, as Taylor’s eyes darted between them.  
She carefully began to make her way around the table and toward him, but he’d already begun to back away.  
“You realise you’re outnumbered?” Casey made sure, “and you’re getting closer to the gun…”  
“I’m more concerned with what she’s holding right now,” Taylor insisted, indicating Janelle.  
“You weren’t scared of needles before.”  
“That was before I knew what you were going to do with it. With me. After it.”  
“You also realise your time is running out,” Casey continued.  
“I’m willing to stretch it as long as possible.”  
“He babbles when he’s nervous too,” Janelle almost giggled.  
“Leave me _alone_!”  
“No can do,” Casey shook her head, backing toward the cupboard and beginning to sift through the contents.  
“What are you doing?” Janelle asked, inching closer to Taylor as he continued inching backward.  
“Well if you won’t let me shoot him I’ll have to find another way to make him heel, won’t I?”  
“Oh my God,” Taylor moaned, putting his hands to his head with a cringe.  
He heard Casey pull something out, but he refused to take his eyes from Janelle.  
“Get down on your knees before I make you,” Casey gave her one and only warning.  
“By doing what?” Taylor asked, managing to glance in her direction.  
His eyes widened further. In his hesitation, Janelle darted forward. Taylor’s legs collapsed from under him in his attempt to defend himself, but by the time he regained his composure Casey was practically on top of him.  
“Hold still,” she cautioned, wrapping the whip she held around his arm to keep it in place as Janelle readied the needle.

~*~


	44. 43

Isaac finally landed in Tulsa and immediately rushed out to the front of the airport. He found the first available taxi, and was on his way back to the house.  
When he arrived, he was relieved to find no one home. He hurried through and to his old bedroom, made straight for his wardrobe, and began rummaging around the shelves in the top. When he found what he was looking for, he pulled the shoebox down onto his bed and opened it. Under the tissue paper and stuffing sat a loaded pistol.  
He pulled out his pair of black leather gloves and quickly put them on. Then he took hold of the pistol and slipped it into his belt, pulled his jacket over it to hide it, put the box back and hurried outside to the taxi again. Double-checking the piece of paper in his wallet, he told the driver the address and they began to head out of town.

Meanwhile, Casey made her way out from the shed and up toward the farmhouse. She soon found Eric in the kitchen.  
“Eric?”  
“Yeah?” he murmured from behind the door of the refrigerator.  
“Would you mind doing something for me?”  
Eric hesitated, then closed the door and stared at her.  
“What?” he asked after a moment’s silence.  
“Don’t get snippy,” Casey wagged her finger at him, “I need you to take Trey out with the others. Preferably before the stench gets too bad. I’ve had him out back for a while now.”  
Eric sighed, then made his way over to the bench and grabbed the keys to the van.  
“There’s a good boy,” Casey mocked, before making her way into the living area.  
She found Josie still on the sofa and couldn’t help but smile as she heard the door close behind Eric on his way out.  
“What’s up?” Josie asked, sighting her hovering in the corner by the doorway.  
“Zac’s free for the taking, if you want him.”  
Josie’s eyes lit up and she sat up on the sofa, before hesitating.  
“You didn’t do anything, did you?”  
“His leg’s bleeding a bit still,” Casey shrugged, “but you know he’s not my type.”  
Josie nodded to herself, then looked up at the television.  
“So what are you waiting for?” Casey scorned, beginning to fiddle with the keys on her belt.  
She pulled apart a single key, and then threw it to her sister.  
“Lock the door from the outside. That’s the only key to his restraints.”  
“What if he tries to use me against you?”  
“Then I’ll kill Taylor prematurely,” Casey sighed, “if he knows what’s good for him, he won’t. And besides, he knows you like it.”  
Josie nodded again, then stood from the sofa. Casey watched her leave, then sat on the sofa and began watching the television herself. With Janelle having her eye on Taylor until the drugs would kick in, there really was nothing else for her to do.

~*~


	45. 44

Isaac thanked the taxi driver and stepped out at the bottom of the driveway of the neighbouring property his call from Dale had directed him to. He watched as the cab drove way, pulled his jacket tighter over his shoulders, and gazed up at the neighbouring farmhouse. He could see the shed quite clearly from the road.  
Taking a deep breath, he began to make his way up the driveway. There appeared to be no one at home on this property, so he wouldn’t have any trouble making his way through the scrub to get to the shed under the cover of trees.  
It took him almost half an hour to walk up the driveway alone.

“I don’t get what you want to happen here,” Zac scowled, not having moved from the chair since Josie had unlocked the restraints holding him to it.  
“Zac you know what I want,” Josie pleaded, “please? I’ve waited years for this opportunity.”  
“Why should I?” Zac scorned, “fair enough you’re blackmailing me with my brother, but I don’t see why we should do _anything_ when we’re probably not going to make it out of this anyway.”  
“Who said that?” Josie frowned, looking honestly confused.  
Zac studied her face for a moment, leaning his arms over his knees.  
“Give me one good reason why you think your sister would let us go,” he challenged.  
“She knows I want her to,” Josie replied quietly.  
“That response wasn’t a very convincing one.”  
“It’s all I have on her,” Josie shook her head, “it’s all I want from her. She wouldn’t deny me, I’m sure.”  
“So did you conspire to get me here or was it a convenient coincidence that I was the one to come looking for him?”  
“Convenient coincidence,” Josie admitted, looking down at her hands, “Casey didn’t know you were coming. She thought Isaac would. I didn’t want this to happen, I swear.”  
“You didn’t know that she was after him?” Zac found hard to believe.  
“I swear I didn’t know,” Josie insisted, “she always maintained she hated you guys. She obviously lied.”  
“And if she lied about that…” Zac began, finally standing from the chair, “who’s to say she isn’t lying about letting us go?”  
“Maybe it’s just you then,” Josie shrugged, backing off a little nervously, “she told me she’d let you go. She never said anything about Taylor.”  
Zac scowled.  
“And you tell me this now?!”  
He practically marched over to the door and tried the doorknob. He didn’t expect it to open, but he wasn’t exactly sure how it had been locked – there was no keyhole on this side.  
“It’s locked from the outside,” Josie bit her bottom lip, “Casey has to open it.”  
Zac grunted under his breath, then turned around to face her while leaning on the door.  
“What makes her think I wouldn’t use you against her?” he demanded.  
“Taylor,” Josie replied simply.

~*~


	46. 45

“So are you planning to… use me as a hostage?” Josie asked.  
“I’m not that stupid,” Zac insisted, “why, do you want to die?”  
“You’d really kill me?” Josie looked saddened suddenly.  
Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“If it got Taylor out of here I wouldn’t have a problem. But it won’t. I have better things to do with my time than murder people. Unlike your sister, so it seems.”  
Josie bit her lip again.  
A moment later, the door to the shed opened, closing quickly a second later. Josie frowned to herself.  
“Casey shouldn’t be back this early,” she whispered, before turning to Zac.  
“Quick,” she insisted, “at least look as if you’re taking advantage. If you don’t she might hurt you!”  
Zac struggled with himself for a moment, before grunting and walking over to the nearby cabinet. They hadn’t heard anything since the door closed, and realising this Josie grit her teeth.  
“Casey?!” she called out, ”that you?!”  
There was no reply.  
However they soon heard calm footsteps heading in their direction, and Josie looked confused as they sounded heavier up close.  
“Eric?!” she called out, before Zac suddenly took hold of her and held a knife to her throat.  
A rattle was heard from the door a moment later, before it suddenly burst open.  
Zac’s eyes immediately widened, and he slapped his other hand over Josie’s mouth.  
“What are…how did…I…you were…” he stuttered, shaking his head.  
Isaac put a finger to his lips as a sign to be quiet, before making his way over steadily. Leaning in over Josie, he whispered in Zac’s ear.  
“Where is he?”  
Zac gulped slightly, his eyes darting as he made sure Josie couldn’t make a sound.  
“Very end of the corridor,” he whispered, “the centre door. Janelle’s there I think. Where’s Casey?”  
“No idea,” Isaac replied, before eyeing off Josie.  
She could only look back up at him as he made to leave the room.  
Once he was gone, Zac hesitated with his eyes down as he tried to decide what to do next. He couldn’t let Josie warn Janelle – or anyone else for that matter – that Isaac was there. And the door was now open. Eyeing off the cabinet again, he pulled Josie over to it keeping the knife to her throat.  
“Make a sound and I’ll slit it,” Zac hissed, waiting for Josie’s nod.  
He carefully took his hand away from her mouth, reaching into the cabinet and pulling out the nearest gag. He soon had it over her head before pulling her back over to the chair and restraining her into it. He ignored the pleading look in her eyes as his ears strained to hear where Isaac’s footsteps had gone. Only silence greeted them.

~*~


	47. 46

Seconds later there was a monstrous crash, followed by a gunshot muffled with a silencer. Zac looked up at that, and remembering that neither Casey nor Eric were in the building, he cleared his throat.  
“What happened?!” he called out, not even sparing Josie a glance.  
Not receiving an answer, but hearing Isaac talking calmly (far enough away to not be able to make out the words), Zac made his way to the door. Then he did glance at Josie before making his way down the corridor.  
“Ike?” he asked nervously as he came to the end.  
He saw the door into the room Taylor had been in had been broken down. That was the answer to the crash. When he finally made it to the doorway, the first thing he saw was Isaac in a crouch beside Taylor on his knees. The next thing he saw was Janelle lying on her side to the very right of the room.  
“What happened?” Zac repeated, making Isaac look up.  
“I did away with our biggest problem,” was the response, as Isaac went back to whatever he was doing.  
Zac eyed off Janelle again, before limping over to her and leaning down to touch her neck. There was no pulse.  
“She’s dead.”  
“That was the idea. Come and help me.”  
Zac hesitated, before limping over to Taylor. He couldn’t help but cringe when he saw him.  
He quickly fell to his knees, and hurriedly fumbled for the wire in his pocket.  
“Calmly,” Isaac insisted, stopping and putting a hand on Zac’s shoulder, “take a deep breath and hesitate, ok? Getting worked up will only make him panic.”  
Zac nodded, before taking a closer look at Taylor and doing as Isaac suggested.  
“Is he even awake?” Zac frowned.  
“He’s fully conscious, yes,” Isaac confirmed, “you can tell by his pupils. Go ahead and take a look.”  
Zac gave him a curious look, before carefully opening one of Taylor’s eyes. He jumped back a little when he saw his iris adjust to the light.  
“Then why isn’t he moving?”  
“Good question,” Isaac sighed, working on unlacing the binder holding Taylor’s arms back, “I’m going to check out the drug cabinet once we have him out.”  
“Casey’s probably up at the farmhouse. She’ll be back soon,” Zac warned.  
“Who’s Eric?”  
“A guy she has helping her out. I don’t know anything about him. How the hell did you get here?”  
“By plane.”  
“Well obviously, but…”  
“I got a call from Dale. He was being chased by a guy in a van. Presumably, this Eric.”  
Zac nodded, and then pursed his lips.  
“You don’t know what happened to him then?”  
“No, I don’t.”

~*~


	48. 47

“How thick is the wire you have?” Isaac asked suddenly.  
Zac held it up to show him.  
“Why?”  
Isaac snatched it and compared it to one he held.  
“I’ll use yours. The keyhole is thin on the gag.”  
“What about the collar and the ankle cuffs?”  
“The cuffs should come right off,” Isaac insisted, throwing the leather binder aside before beginning to pick the lock on Taylor’s gag.  
Zac moved around his brother slightly, sighting the clasps on the cuffs. He awkwardly managed to bend over and unhook them before sitting back and taking a few more deep breaths.  
“How’s the leg?” Isaac asked nonchalantly.  
“Drifting between numb and fucking painful.”  
“What are you going to tell the cops when they arrive at the hospital?”  
Zac hesitated, and then scratched his head.  
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead, admittedly.”  
Their heads simultaneously lifted as they heard the shed door open.  
“Casey,” Zac murmured, as Isaac stood – readying the gun again.  
“Josie?!” they heard her yell, before Isaac looked back at Zac.  
‘Her sister,’ he mouthed in explanation, and Isaac nodded as he took the gun off safety. They heard her footsteps coming closer, before they stopped at the end of the walkway as she no doubt spied the broken door. Isaac heard her arm a gun.  
“Zac?” she called carefully, making Zac roll his eyes.  
Isaac gave him a subtle signal, indicating for him to say something so she didn’t think anyone else was there. He frowned for a moment, but sighed.  
“Yeah?” he called out.  
Isaac heard Casey almost sigh in relief before stepping out into the doorway. The second she did however, she spotted Isaac, and had her gun trained on him in an instant.  
“Who are you?” she demanded, sparing Zac and Taylor a quick glance.  
“The ‘other one’,” Isaac offered, stance frozen as his gun remained trained on her.  
Casey looked confused for a moment, before realisation crossed her face.  
“I suggest you drop it,” was her next remark.  
“I don’t think I can do that.”  
“You want to risk your brothers’ lives?” Casey raised an eyebrow, before looking at Zac again.  
“You realise this wouldn’t be happening if you’d just given him to me.”  
“We Hansons don’t back down,” Zac shrugged, and then gave her a wink and a smile.  
“Zac?” came Isaac’s voice, almost making him jump.  
“Oh, right,” Zac cleared his throat before leaning over Taylor and clasping hold of his ears tightly.  
“What are you…?” Casey began, before a second gunshot rang out.

~*~


	49. 48

Isaac immediately made his way over to the drug cabinet and began sifting through.  
“Did you have to do that while he was here?” Zac scorned, still covering Taylor’s ears.  
“You don’t point a gun at someone unless you intend to shoot them,” Isaac defended, “I just decided to shoot first.”  
Zac just glared at him as he let Taylor go, beginning to pick the lock on the collar around his neck. When that was finally off, he pulled Taylor down into his lap and waited.  
“Find anything?” he asked after a while, as Isaac was reading a couple of labels.  
“Maybe…” Isaac replied absently, before putting a small bottle back and holding up a small spray bottle to Zac.  
“Sedative spray,” he said simply.  
“But that would knock him out,” Zac frowned.  
“Not from a distance,” Isaac corrected, “it has more of a paralysing effect that way. He’s paralysed.”  
“Are you sure that’s the only thing?” Zac frowned, eyeing Taylor’s arm suddenly.  
“I couldn’t be sure. Why?”  
“He’s been injected with something,” Zac replied, before looking up at Isaac again as an invitation to come and see.  
Isaac hesitated, then put the spray bottle back.  
“That could be anything,” he said suddenly.  
He made his way over to a small bin in the corner, and knelt to sift through it. He finally uncovered a used syringe, and looked it over for a moment.  
“When the police come, get them to test this,” he instructed, putting it back into the bin.  
“The police?” Zac frowned, “what? Why would they come here?”  
“Because you’re going to call them,” Isaac insisted.  
And as if on cue, he spied Taylor’s phone on the nearby bench. He went over to grab it, then took it over and handed it to Zac.  
“What do I say?” Zac frowned, worriedly.  
“Tell them exactly what happened. That you and Taylor were abducted and brought here. Take the gun,” Isaac went on, handing the gun to him, “and say you killed them in self defence. It won’t be much of a lie, and they’ll have no reason to not believe you.”  
“What are you going to do?” Zac gulped slightly, looking down at the gun he held.  
It was still warm.  
“I wasn’t here,” Isaac shook his head, “you overpowered that other girl and got out. You stole the gun from them. I’m going to try and find Dale.”  
“What if Eric comes back?”  
“Kill him too.”  
“What about Josie?”  
“The other girl?” Isaac shrugged, “she’s nothing now. She can swear black and blue that you’re a murderer and yet we’ll have all the evidence we need to convict her.”  
He leant down and patted his brother on the shoulder.  
“Call now. It’ll take them a while to get here. By then I’ll be gone.”  
Zac nodded, and nervously dialled 911. He looked up just as Isaac slipped out the door, and the last thing he heard was the door close behind him.

~*~


	50. 49

Isaac had barely made it to the top of the driveway when he saw the van pulling in at the bottom. It took him less than a second to make the connection, and he knew this had to be the van Dale had been talking about.  
Looking around for a moment, he stepped up the farmhouse and watched as the van made it’s way up the driveway. As it got closer, he slipped around the back and inside. Hopefully the driver would simply just go into the shed, and Zac could deal with him or her then himself.  
He heard the van pull to a halt and the driver getting out. Unfortunately the next thing he heard was their footsteps coming up to the farmhouse.  
Debating what to do with himself, he slipped into the living room.  
Eric came in and made his way straight to the fridge to continue what he’d been doing when Casey had interrupted. Getting himself something to eat. He grumbled to himself as he opened the door and leant down to get a good look at what was available, before a sudden sharp pain in his head made itself known as the door came into contact with it. He cried out and covered his head as he fell down, suddenly becoming disoriented. Enough so that by the time the vertigo settled, a knife was at his throat.  
“Who are you?” the stranger demanded.  
“Where’s Casey?” Eric struggled to get out, feeling the blade digging in.  
“She’s dead. Who are you?”  
There was silence for a moment, apart from Eric’s heavy breathing as the news settled in.  
“Did you kill her?”  
“Tell me who wants to know and I might answer his questions.”  
Eric glanced up at him, backing up further against the wall to try and distance his neck from the knife. It didn’t work.  
“Well thankyou, if you did. And I’m a cousin of hers. Adopted.”  
“Eric?”  
“How do you know?” Eric cringed as the blade slipped a little.  
“What are you doing here, Eric?”  
“Ouch! She fucking blackmailed me. That’s what I’m doing here. I do whatever she says.”  
Isaac contemplated that for a moment, before removing the knife. Eric suddenly began to breathe a lot easier.  
“What did you do, out of curiosity?”  
“I didn’t do anything,” Eric insisted, “she’s just good at framing people. Now who the hell are you?”  
“I’m Isaac Hanson, and I’m here for my brothers. The cops will be here soon.”  
Eric’s eyes widened at that.  
“Of course if you’re not guilty of anything, you have nothing to worry about.”  
“She got me to do all of the dirty work,” Eric gulped, managing to stand up and lean back against the wall, “I know where all the bodies are.”  
“How many?” Isaac frowned.  
“Too many,” Eric shook his head, “where are your brothers? What are you doing?”

~*~


	51. 50

Barely an hour later, Isaac rushed over as Zac was being loaded into the back of an ambulance.  
“Zac?!” he cried, appearing at his side.  
“Ike?”  
“What happened?”  
“Excuse me Sir,” one of the ambulance personnel insisted as they struggled to fit the gurney alongside the other already in place.  
“I’ll tell you when we get to the hospital,” Zac promised.  
“Which hospital are you going to?” Isaac demanded.  
One of the officers told him, and then offered for him to ride with them.  
“I’d be grateful, thanks,” Isaac nodded, conveniently not mentioning he didn’t have a car.  
He climbed into the back, eyeing off Taylor as he did so, before two officers climbed in and the doors were shut. Two police cars escorted them on their way.  
“There’s another ambulance out there…” Isaac looked confused.  
“Some people didn’t make it out alive,” Zac explained, taking hold of Isaac’s hand.  
“What’s wrong with Tay?” Isaac swallowed a lump in his throat.  
“We don’t know yet, but we’ll find out,” one of the officers amended, “he’s fully conscious though. He knows what’s happening.”  
“Fully conscious?” Isaac seemed to disbelieve.  
He would have made an effort to get to Taylor’s side had there been any room to do so.

Half an hour later, Taylor and Zac had been separated in the hospital and Isaac wasn’t aloud to see either of them. Zac had to be operated on to remove the bullet as soon as possible, and they needed to run tests on Taylor to find out exactly what drugs had been used on him so they could either try and find an antidote or get an idea of when it would wear off.  
He’d already taken numerous frantic calls since the police had contacted their family.  
Almost an hour after he’d managed to settle himself down and convince himself to sleep, he was tapped on the shoulder by a nurse.  
“Mr. Hanson?”  
He rubbed his eyes and gave her a curious look.  
“News on your brothers?”  
“Yes?” he was suddenly a lot more attentive.  
“Zac’s in recovery. He should be up and about in an hour or so.”  
“And Tay?” Isaac coaxed, using his hands for emphasis.  
“We ran a few tests, and they show that he was injected with heroin before being paralysed with a sedative spray. Did your brother… experiment with drugs often?”  
“He better not have,” suddenly Isaac was no longer acting, “but no, I’m sure he wasn’t.”  
“Ok. Obviously the police will need to ask him some questions when he wakes up. But although he was bordering on an overdose there, we were able to revive him and he is recovering now. He should wake up in a few hours.”  
“Thankyou,” Isaac nodded, suddenly breathing easier.  
“That’s ok. You may go in and see Zac if you wish.”  
“That would be great.”

~*~


	52. Epilogue

“Hey,” Zac murmured as he spied his eldest brother sneaking in.  
“Hey. How are you?”  
“Close the door,” Zac insisted as he began to sit up, wincing as he did so.  
Isaac closed the door, and made his way over.  
“You owe me,” Zac glared suddenly as Isaac sat in the chair beside his bed.  
“I owe you… what?”  
“An explanation,” Zac’s eyebrows rose, “what the hell happened back there?”  
Isaac stared at him for a moment in an attempt to be intimidating, but Zac refused to back down.  
“Tell me,” he demanded, “I feel I have a right to know.”  
“It’s not a story all would want told,” Isaac shook his head.  
“I don’t care.”  
“And what if Taylor wouldn’t want it told?”  
Zac hesitated, before frowning as he tried to comprehend.  
“Taylor,” he said finally, ducking his head.  
“Yes, Taylor.”  
“What does Taylor have to do with it?”  
“As I said, I don’t think he…”  
“Ike,” Zac almost growled.  
Isaac stopped himself, before running his fingers through his hair nervously and leaning forward resting his arms on his knees.  
“What if _I_ don’t want it told?”  
“Then you’re about to be at a definite disadvantage,” Zac scowled, “just fucking tell me.”  
Isaac sighed, and then awkwardly scratched his chin.  
“You’re like me, aren’t you?” Zac demanded.  
“I was. I’m not anymore.”  
“Yeah, and that display sure proved it.”  
“If you want me to explain, don’t get shitty with me.”  
Zac raised his hands in surrender, before sitting back against the pillows.  
“When you’re done you can explain to me what Taylor has to do with it. Or I’ll ask him myself.”  
“The nurse told you what happened?”  
“She did,” Zac confirmed, “but don’t change the subject. Why did you stop?”  
“Stop what?”  
“What you were doing. You said you were like me, and you know what I do. So I’m assuming that’s the kind of thing you did.”  
Isaac shrugged, debating with himself how to say anything.  
“I stopped because of Taylor,” he admitted finally.  
“Because he wanted you to?” Zac frowned.  
“In a manner of speaking.”  
“Did something happen that I should know about?” Zac’s eyes began searching his brother.  
Isaac remained silent as he stared across the room.  
“If I don’t hassle you, I’m going to hassle Tay. If the subject is touchy and he knows that I know something, it could get messy. Whereas if you just tell me, he doesn’t even have to know.”  
“You know he’s going to kick your ass anyway, right?”  
“Of course.”  
Isaac took another deep breath, before returning to his staring corner.  
“He saw something he shouldn’t have.”  
“You too?”  
Isaac took a moment to glance at his brother, before hanging his head.  
“Not like that.”  
“Worse?” Zac suddenly looked worried.  
Isaac nodded.  
“What could possibly be worse than what I did to Claudia?” Zac’s voice cracked at the memory.  
“That wasn’t your fault Zac.”  
“Tell that to the rabbits, the fox would never believe it. Whose fault do you think it was?”  
“It was an accident.”  
“And the accident was my fault,” Zac reiterated, “but what did Taylor see?”  
Isaac cringed slightly, scratching his chin again.  
“Remember his first girlfriend? Ashley?”  
“Who went missing three months into…” Zac began, seeing Isaac already nodding.  
“Oh hell no.”

~*~


	53. Claudia

_”So, ever done anything like this before?”_  
“Not really,” she replied softly.  
“Don’t worry, I’m careful. And I have people to back that up.”  
“I trust you.”  
“Well, thanks.”  
He lifted the blade and watched as it glinted in the dim lights. Almost a rainbow cascaded over its edge, and it made him smile.  
“Ever felt a blade run over your throat by someone with intent?”  
“No.”  
“Then allow me…”  
He carefully lowered the blade to her neck, and watched as her body shivered. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked up into his placid face.  
“It’s riveting, isn’t it?” he whispered.  
The door suddenly opened, making Zac jump at least a few inches. He looked over to see Taylor in the doorway.  
“Mom said…”  
They were distracted by a horrible gurgling sound, and it was only then that Zac looked down and saw what he’d done.  
“Claudia?!” he dropped the knife and immediately grabbed a nearby towel.  
Taylor’s eyes had widened, seeming almost to become shell-shocked.  
“Tay?!” Zac tried to catch his attention, “Tay! Get help!”  
Taylor finally looked up with a gulp.  
“I can’t,” he almost whispered.  
“What?” Zac looked at him in disbelief.  
“I can’t,” Taylor shook his head, leaning against the doorway and falling to his knees.  
“She’s already dead.” 


End file.
